


Mother of All Darkness

by dhapin



Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton, New Mutants, X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2018-08-10 22:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 23
Words: 100,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7863628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dhapin/pseuds/dhapin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I find Anita Blake and Illyana interactions to be quite intriguing.  Both are violent and very ruthless when need be and yet both have a softer side, although Illyana’s is so rarely seen.  I got to wondering how Illyana’s interactions with Anita’s world would have affected the Mother of all Darkness storyline now that Katherine and Illyana are part of the storyline.  And I did want to write another full Anita Blake story.  I figure that this story takes place shortly after the Laurell K Hamilton's book Bullet.</p><p>This is a combined sequel to my first Anita Blake/Illyana story Scary things and the story Cat’s Cradle.  To fully understand this story you need to have read the Scary Things and then Cat’s Cradle.  There are also references to my Snowflake on Ice story and my current Pride, Prejudice, Illyana, and Zombies story (but you don't have to have read them).</p><p>And Anita Blake stories tend to involve sexual topics as that is how the author Laurell K Hamilton currently writes her.  As in my prior Anita Blake stories this is told from Anita's perspective.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Part 1: What came way after what came before**

 

Cuddling and snoozing in bed post sex. Ahhh, one of my favorite things. Something to take the edge off of the hurt, the pain, the loss... the grief.

 

Things so completely sucked right now.

 

Sucko issue number one. Haven was dead by my hand, it was either him or Nathaniel and it so wasn't him. I wished it could have worked out. He was a powerful werelion, but had so many issues about masculine dominance (i.e. him dominating me) and he'd gone nuts and tried to kill Nathaniel just to make me feel bad. Well... he'd succeeded but not in quite the way he'd planned as I ended up shooting him resulting in his death.

 

Sucko issue number two. The vampire council had been taken over by the Mother of All Darkness’s spirit, and said bitch was using the council to try to either take over me and mine or destroy us completely.

 

The Mother of All Darkness, otherwise known as Marmee Noir or Mommy Dearest, is the leader of all vampires and the head of the Vampire Council. She is both a vampire and a lycanthrope at once, and is apparently a were-cave lion. According to several of the vampires (and her), she is supposedly the first vampire. However, there were hints that she is the Mother vampire in a metaphorical, rather than literal sense, having created the rules and culture that governs the vampire race. Nobody is quite sure and Marmee Noir is certainly not telling.

 

Not quite sure what she was, she might be a unique type of vampire, distinctly different and more powerful, from all later descendents; perhaps not even a vampire, per se, but a unique type of monster with vampiric traits. Her powers included control over several species of vampire/lycanthrope mixes (i.e. cat based), the ability to project her attention and mental powers, and a deep control over darkness.

 

Marmee Noir and her vampire/lycanthrope followers had been "sleeping" for centuries, due to some members of the vampire community casting a spell on her, in an underground tower that looks out on a wide open space. Her body has been destroyed but the bitch's spirit survived and was actually possessing various vampires. Her goal was to posses me as her new host.

 

Yea, ultra sucko like I said.

 

But... damn I love the sheets on Jean-Claude’s bed, they must be one thousand thread count or better. I so didn’t want to know what they cost.

 

I was sprawled naked between three of my sweeties, Jean-Claude (vampire), Micah (wereleopard) , and Asher (vampire). They were all sleeping and I guess I was dozing when I heard the slight cough of somebody announcing their presence.

 

**SHIT!**

 

I froze. I hadn’t sensed anything! And… none of my bedmates had stirred at the sound which must mean strong magic!

 

I groped for the concealed handgun (yea I have one hidden in the bed and no I’m not going to tell you where it is) as I peered over Asher’s shoulder and saw a person sitting on a chair on the far wall. It was... well shit it wasn't whom I'd feared but almost somebody as bad. It was...

 

Magik.

 

Which was odd. I didn’t hear any screaming like I usually do when I’m around her and she was also dressed strangely. She was wearing some full body grey garb with electronics boxes over her chest that had wires leading to her wrists, looked like some weird prison clothing or something.

 

She also looked… unkempt. And I wasn't feeling anything from her. No sense of power, demonic evil, or… heck anything at all. It was like she wasn't really here.

 

She had an expression of vague annoyance as she looked upon me _. “Occupied with your usual hobby I see Ms. Blake. Have you become an exhibitionist or are you trying to find out if I’m a voyeur and into...”_ she waved her right hand to indicate the three sleeping males.

I sat up and found a bed sheet to hide my breasts. I’m a lot more casual about nudity now, but just didn’t feel right flashing her. I shook the boys but nobody woke up.

 

She watched me attempt to wake them and commented again in a dry sarcastic tone. _“I think this is a private conversation Ms. Blake. Your dream, your rules I suppose”._

_“Why are you here Magik”?_ I asked as I glared at her, I hate being surprised and aggression is kind of my default reaction.

 

I’d called her Magik but she also had other names. Darkchilde for one. You really didn’t want to meet her when Darkchilde described her as she looked like a classical female devil. I’ve seen her a few times like that and it was never good. I don’t think it was good for her and it really wasn’t good for those around her (although sexually the look tended to be very good with some of the boys which I think speaks volumes about the male species in general).

 

Childe with an E was the first name that I learned (she'd used that name when we'd first met). Childe was… well not safe but not… ummm… genocidal is too strong a word… let’s just say she tended to refrain from wanton homicide and leave it at that.

 

Magik. Interesting name, denotes I suppose what she really was as she was magical at so many levels in that she was able to do all kinds of things. Magik had fried the Great Pyramid of Khufu the first time I’d met her, and years later it was still smoking. Nobody knew what was burning underneath all that stone rubble and nobody wanted to find out. They’d spent weeks pouring water from the Nile on it but whatever was burning apparently didn’t care about water. And just to be extra specific Magik was not a self assumed title, she'd been named Magik by others; meaning she wasn't bragging.

 

Then there was Snowflake, Katherine sometimes called her that. It was a nickname from her human childhood before she became a demon sorceress, died, and came back as a full demon. Katherine also sometimes called her Kit as in Kitten.

 

Katherine and Illyana were lovers, but separated by fate due to something that Illyana (and yes I mean Illyana and not Magik) had done to save Katherine. Really separated as apparently Illyana had taken on some kind of fate that had been Katherine’s so Katherine would not have to die and was rather... damaged by it; but that’s another story. Katherine had tried explaining it once using quantum mathematics, something about quantum super positions and quantum particle entanglement in the non quantum world, but all I achieved was a quantifiably super headache. I mean how can something be in two places at once and be two different things?

 

Hell Lord, ruler of Limbo was one of her titles. Power with a capital P, see Magik for reference.

 

Some folks I knew had taken to calling her Dragon Lady when they didn't want to mention her other names (for some reason they didn't want to speak her name, they thought it was bad luck or something). They never did it around Katherine as she got annoyed, but she did concede that the title was well earned.

 

Then there was Illyana. Nice safe human name. Right? Naaa… Illyana was… way past dangerous. When she was Illyana, in our world, that either meant her human side was really showing (I’d only seen it once) or it meant that somebody was threatening Katherine and hell was about to pay a visit (I’d seen that too and I’d take Magik over Illyana any day of the week, with Magik you had a better chance of understanding and surviving. Illyana tended to lose it when Katherine was involved).

 

Well enough about her names for now.

 

 _“You called me”._ Was her response. _“Umm… do you have a Coke or something in here? They don’t usually let me have soft drinks and I’m rather craving a Coke”._

Ok, no idea what the hell she was talking about. I pointed to the wet bar and she went over and rummaged around in the small fridge and came back with a glass of ice and a can of Coke. She poured herself a drink.

 

 _“Thanks”._ She said and she took a long sip.

 

Ok this is way weird. She said dream so… what the hell was going on? Well, I asked the question a bit more politely then that. Never hurt to be polite with Magik although you could cuss at her and she wouldn’t take offense, I guess demons tended to have a thick skin.

 

_“You summoned me… well, I suppose you kind of summoned me. More of a please show up kind of plea. I think you’re contemplating cashing in the favor I owe you and you want to talk it over first. I was asleep as well and decide to respond to your plea. Because… well shards I’m so very very bored. At least Scott is finally letting me out on missions now and then, grateful for the break in the tedium”._

Ok, not making any sense, rather the norm with her. I tried a question that might elicit a more understandable response.

 

_“What’s with the new look? You look like a character in a Sci-Fi film”._

 

Her response surprised me as she held up her arms to emphasize the getup.

 

_“Prison garb, integrated with a nifty demon incinerating bomb jacket. Rather annoyed to find myself wearing it in a dream as well, but beats the hell out of most of my dreams lately”._

 

_“Prison gear? Bomb jacket? What the hell did you do and who the hell is able to do this to… well you”?_

Her answer both interesting and chilling.

_“Got my soul back for one and arranged the death of the elder gods”._

She gave a sarcastic grin. “ _My methods… upset my teammates as I risked all of creation to do it. That and… well… some other things. So now I’m locked up with the bomb thingie set to go off if I misbehave, try to do magic, or get uppity I suppose”._

_“Shit… so you’re powerless”._

_“No. I’m locked up”._

_“Isn’t that the same thing”?_

_“No”._

_“How”?_

_“I let them lock me up”._

_“Meaning…”?_

_“How good were you at locking me up”?_

Ok… I thought about it a bit and then got it. Not sure if the folks who locked her up got it but then that was not my problem.

 

Wondered who Scott was, decided not to ask as I likely would just be more confused by the answers. Hmm, she said a team…

 

 _“What kind of team? Don’t tell me you’re a member of the Justice League or something”?_ If so they really needed to get their heads examined was my inner thought, that’s like letting Lex Luther join and putting him in charge of the kryptonite.

 

_“Naa, I don’t live in a comic book Ms. Blake. Although it is a super powered response team for the situations that are the baddest of the bad. Not to be used in most cases so not much play time as it were. At least they let me out the cell for training as well. The team name sums it up well, the Extinction team”._

Ok, with a name like that her presence made a kind of makes sense. And I so wished she'd stop referring to massive mayhem as playing, the girl has a disturbing perspective on things. _“How do they… um restrain you when you’re not in your bomb jacket”?_

_“With another more expensive bomb jacket that looks just like my spandex black and yellow costume. Rather sucks in that I haven’t had a bath or a shower in a long time. Shards moist towelettes so don’t cut it. I find that I keep fantasying about a shower”._

 

Ok, that explained the unkempt look.

 

Magik then asked a question as she looked around the room. _“So… why am I here Ms. Blake? Here being rather notional as this is a dream”._

 

I explain what had been happening and my fears about Mommy Dearest. I then asked a question that had been on my mind for quite some time.

 

_“Are you stronger then her, Marmee Noir, the mother of darkness”?_

 

_“No… Well, not completely sure but probably a very strong no, especially if she’s taken over the vampire council. I stayed well away from her the times I've been here”._

 

_“Shit”._

 

_“Hoping I’d take out the big bad for you”?_

 

_“Yea”._

 

_“Sorry, but she’s beyond just me even with all that I am in this world”._

_“Shit”._ I said gain. Yea, I like to curse sometimes.

 

Magik asked a question. _“Have you involved…”_ she gulped and suddenly her body language changed. She got a panicky look and started to hyperventilate. She ended up closing her eyes and stuttered _“Kath… Kather… Kath… Kath…”._ She stopped and gulped, then continued. _“Her”?_

Ut-oh, dangerous ground. Magik had just gone Illyana and I only knew one thing that could cause that. I had been tempted to involve Katherine, but I was rather convinced that doing that would fall under plotting Katherine harm and Illyana had made it very plain, and had demonstrated, just what happened to folks who plotted Katherine harm (remember that genocidal comment). Plus… Katherine was my friend and… well shit, you don’t do that to friends.

 

_“No, she doesn’t know”._

 

Katherine was off at Yale getting her first Doctorate degree. In fact she was due to come back here for spring break in just three weeks, assuming there was something to come back to that is. Just knew she was going to be way beyond pissed when she learned that we had hidden this from her (assuming we were alive in three weeks). But alive and pissed beats dead any day of the week.

 

Illyana gave one of those full body shivers, but when she opened her eyes you could tell Magik was back.

 

_“Good”._

 

We sat there staring at each other for a while as Magik drank the rest of her Coke.

I finally asked the question that I really wanted an answer to.

_“If… well… does that oath you swore cover… um… this”?_

Magik swallowed the last of her Coke, then got up and retrieve another can. She replied as she rummaged around in the mini fridge _. “I swore my oath to you. Better you do… the bigger the favor”._

 

 _“And…”?_ I asked. Hoped and prayed to be honest (yes the irony of praying about help from a demon was not lost on me). Although… she wasn’t really feeling demony. Maybe because this was supposedly just a dream? Hmm... she did say she got back her soul.

 

She stood back up with her refilled glass of Coke. _“You did what I… couldn’t do… for… Kather… Kath… Ka Ka Ka Ka…”_ She gave up trying to pronounce Katherine’s name and continued _. “I owe you the biggest favor you can possible come up with. I can’t take out Mommy Dearest myself… but I’ll be there if you call”._

_“Thanks that actually brings me a bit of comfort”._

The conversation again ground to a halt. Magik just looked around while she drank her Coke, then she spoke.

 

_“Usually dreams like this end on some big moment where some critical piece of information is about to be reveled or after some cathartic revelation or you awaken just in time to fight some monster”._

I had to agree with that. _“Yea…”._

We stared at each other for a while but nothing happened. Then Magik asked another question.

 

_“Do you have any Oreo’s”?_

What was I supposed to do? I threw on a robe and we went and got milk and cookies for the big bad demon. Turned out she also really liked chocolate milk as well.

 

I just hoped she didn't get a craving for pizza or something as it was past 3am.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story takes place close to the end of Illyana's confinement in the X-Brig. 
> 
> And is it just me or do the X-Men have an obsessive desire to put X in front of everything? X-Brig for crying out loud. Next it will be the X-Boys room and the X-Girls room. Hey how about the X-Closet for the brooms? My favorite is putting Xs on female costumes right over the nipple (I mean... come on... but it is nice I have to admit). Oh no, we must go the X-Cave! Hmm, I suppose Batman has the same compulsion (Bat Mobile, Bat Cave, Bat Plane, Bat Computer; one must wonder if there's a Bat Condom)?
> 
> There is a reference to my ongoing Top Gear X story. Top Gear X is another Illyana story written from other's interactions with Illyana (like how this story is written from Anita Blake's perspective). Illyana starts to play a major role in chapter 6 of Top Gear X (shameless plug) with lots of flashbacks and Illyana back-story to Top Gear X.
> 
> And references to Cat's Cradle (Katherine) and Tango with Doom (plug, plug, plug).

**Part 2: Milk, cookies and revelations**

 

Magik and I where sitting in the kitchen area part of the catacombs that there were beneath the Circus. Not that vampires had any need for food, but we had lots of were staff that needed real food, some human and were vampire servants, and me of course. Not to mention the need for banquet cooking.

 

This was one of these really vivid dreams. Complete in every detail except only Magik and I were awake in it. We had passed sleeping guards and staff. Like everybody had been hit with knockout gas or something. Part of me was suspicious that this was not a dream but Magik assured me (gee like that helped) that she was not doing this and that she knew it was a dream.

 

I also found it strange to be sitting at a table with her when several other tables were occupied by sleeping guards and staff, plus some friends of mine. Watching a demon dunking Oreo’s in a glass of milk and eating them. I mean… do demons do that?

 

She asked me if the makeup of the vampire counsel had changed. I told her that it hadn't, still had the same members as when she'd given them that unpleasant scare when she looted their archives.

 

Even weirder I was now engaged in prolonged small talk with Magik. At first she'd just munched some cookies and drank some milk while staring at me as I drank some coffee. Now I'm good with silence, but Magik always wins the stare down contests. If she doesn't have anything to say she apparently feels no need to fill the void of silence and it just gets creepy with her staring at you.

 

I'm also real good at stare downs as well but... heck I guess I got bored as well with nothing happening. I finally asked her why they didn't let her have soda.

 

_"Another strange working theory by one of my jailors I believe. For a while they wouldn't let me cut my hair which finally passed, thank the nameless ones, as I like having bangs. Now they claim they have concerns over the impact of caffeine on my blood chemistry. In truth they don't know how one such as I functions and that puzzles them to no end. Rather annoying being a part time lab rat"._

 

Yea, I could imagine. I carry several different forms of the lycanthropy virus, which is supposed to be impossible, so I also get to have lots of fun doctor visits. Of course I'm not locked up in a cell with a bomb jacket on. Really think that the bomb jacket is excessive and... well from my experience all it could do was hurt her but the rules (God I so wish I could get a copy of this supposed rule book) likely said no on the ability to actually snuff her. God knows we'd tried.

 

My question apparently broke the ice and we started to selectively talk about various things as I tried to keep the conversation away from things that might upset her. Things being Katherine.

 

No talking about Katherine. That was kind of a rule about being around Magik. Magik... well Illyana I guess, couldn't really deal with the topic. Katherine had tried to explain it to me one day.

 

It was like Magik could pretend to herself Katherine did not exist and that Magik had not once become the person she wished she could be. The whole fate thing that Illyana had done made that impossible somehow. Now even thinking about Katherine somehow caused massive physiological problems for her. We all found this very tragic for Katherine (she was a dear friend). Less so for Magik as we were all freaked out by her, but I think I felt the most for her of the ones who felt anything. She kind of reminded me of... what just might have happened to me if I'd chosen wrong.

 

Everybody likes to think that they would sacrifice themselves for their beloved. Makes you... makes you wonder if you could ever really do that for somebody. I know I can as I have, but such... devotion, such purposeful intent... knowing that the sacrifice means you can't have what you want and you get to live with the results. Well... I sometimes wonder if being a sociopath makes you more... extreme. Extreme in all things.

 

I can be a sociopath at times, especially when I kill, but Magik? I think she's mostly locked into being one and doesn't know any way out or... or didn't even know.

 

I find it somehow humbling that a demon can teach us so much about love and sacrifice.

 

I’d just gotten done detailing my hand gun preferences and the merits of 9mm vs. 40cal ammunition. It was my turn to ask a question. Prior to that Magik had spoken at great length on her dagger preferences and just how to twist the knife when it mattered.

 

_"Why the heck have you let yourself be locked up"?_

 

 _"Wants"._ Was her simple answer.

 

I gave her a slightly irritated expression. Like... more detail please. To my surprise she enhanced her response.

 

_"Wants. I want... to have what I once had with them. I want to earn it, not manipulate it into existence. I want to not know the future any more. I want to be... surprised by what happens. I want... I want my friends to trust me again. I want... a lot of things that I can't have. So... I acquiesce to the incarceration. I don't know it if will work, but it appears to be the only option open to me if I wish to remain with the X-Men. Scott has to show that the big bad reality threatening demon is under control and is being punished; leadership and all that"._

 

That's... good I thought. Wanting and acting on wants. Progress I suppose.

 

I asked another question. _“Why don’t I hear screams? I always hear screams around you. Are you still a demon”?_

Magik answered. I had to suppress a laugh at her milk mustache.

 

_“Could be because this is a dream, but more likely it’s because I got my soul back. I’m… not so dead anymore as it were and your power has less to sense now. But… still a demon, but now a demon with a soul so I suppose somewhere one or more hells have frozen over as this is so not covered in the rules. Heck, I think I can even sometimes see blue as it were”._

_“Congratulations on that and um… killing the elder gods. Umm… blue_ ”? Blue? What the heck, oh shit she’d killed or arranged the killing of gods. Really needed to remember that and... hmmm needed to find out if maybe whatever she'd done could be done here to take out Mommy Dearest. Yea... follow that up before this dream ends.

 

_“Obscure reference, meaning I can now… understand some things I really couldn’t before, due to regaining my soul. Think color blind but now I see glimpses of color”._

_"How does it feel having your soul back"?_

_"I'm... not always sure. I'm... actually confused about some things that I was so certain about at one time. I find myself... questioning some the things I've done... and allowed to be done. I'm... Sometimes it feels real good, sometimes I find things now hurt that didn't used to hurt. Sometimes... sometimes it's like it doesn't matter. Time will tell I suppose"._

_"Are you... better now"?_

She as silent for a bit as she apparently thought about it.

_"More complete, yes. But better? No. I... better understand just how... damaged I think I am. How... insane I must be. I can see part of that now. It's not very pretty. My broth... some people keep insisting on having an image of me that does not exist. That me... if she ever existed for me, died. Died badly. This is what's left. That illusionary image of me... hurts because... that means that I know that they would just reject the me that is if they ever removed their self imposed blinders. Funny how even statements of love can hurt a person if the statements are felt to be about something that does not exist"._

I can recognize extreme trauma when I see it as I've both experienced it and seen way too much of it. Damn, I so understood aspects of what she was saying and was so powerless to help. Part of that sounded so similar to my own life story before I found love and how my family acted. Well, I offered the only advice I had to give.

 

 _"You need therapy"._ Yep, insightful, that's me. Sometimes I just have the gift to see the blindingly obvious and give voice to it.

 

She now had an irritated expression. _"I'm getting therapy"._

 

_"Oh, well that's good"._

_"Who do you think locked me up and put the bomb jacket on me"?_

_"Oh, that's bad"._ I thought about it for a moment. _"That must raise all kind of trust issues with your therapist"._

_"Therapists and yep, say the wrong thing and the bomb jacket might just go boom and turn me extra crispy yet again. Rather locks down the desire to share"._

_"Yea, I can relate. Share and get punished. Been there, done that. But..."_ I suddenly got a brief burst of actual insight. _"Why the heck are you sharing this with me"?_

She gave me a look I couldn't interpret. _"Again trust issues. My brother is blind and deaf as it were, he only sees and hears what he wants to. Kitty can't stand me at all which I suppose must mean she's smarter then everybody else. You at least I can kind of partially trust. You listen to me instead of just talking at me. I... I suppose you have a partial understanding of my perspective. So many people are so quick to condemn what I've done without any understanding at all. How... how all of them would have done... bad things if... if... **that**... had happened to them"._

 

Kitty being the young doppelganger for Katherine in the universe where Magik came from. Wow, alternate universes are so confusing.

 

Yea I could relate to that. Had a therapist when I was a kid that kept insisting that I was evil because I involuntarily raised the dead; he felt that I was trying to punish my Father and Stepmother Real downer. Hmm... let's try my hand at therapy.

_"What would you want if you could only have one thing, not um... taking into account things that fate says you can't have"._ No need to trigger Katherine issues.

 

She had a ready answer. That meant she'd been thinking about this, likely in response one of her therapist questions (but I bet she hadn't shared it).

 

_"Acceptance that I am what I am by my brother. To have him love the me that is rather then the me he wishes I was. To have him know exactly what I am and not turn away, to not reject me. To... delight in my existence. To have him call me snowflake and mean me, not a memory of a me that he wishes I was. If that happened then... then maybe... maybe other thing could be as a well"._

 

Real heavy issues. Reminded me of my own family issues. Time to change the subject.

 

_“So… anything interesting happen while you've been locked up”?_

_“Not really. Hmm, well… I tangoed with Doom, that was fun”._

_“You mean tangled”?_ As I've said before, why is almost everything she says so confusing?

_“No I mean the dance, the tango, was rather fun”._

_“With Doom”?_

_“Victor von Doom”._

_“Oh…”._ Once again I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about.

_“It was in a dream like this but it had really fantastic food. Very romantic in a school girl fantasy kind of way. Victor is very… impressive at all levels”._

 

" _What's he like"?_

 

_"A romantic Darth Vader comes to mind, costume and all"._

I just had to ask, ok enough of that; yet another topic to not pursue. Then I remembered a question I've always wanted to ask.

_“I’ve always been meaning to ask… do you really have a dragon form”?_

Magik gave a little sigh. _“You always ask that question”._

 

I looked at her with some confusion. _“I’ve never asked you that. Hell we don’t even talk much the few times you’ve been here or that time you summoned me to that weird other dimension zombie London to perform that service I owed you”._

Magik suddenly looked slightly... well not embarrassed, but like she had been caught out in a some type of fib. She answered and I didn't like what I heard.

 

_“I’ve been here more then… you or yours remember”._

 

Shit. That meant that…

 

_“You mind rolled us again and it sounds like more then once”._

 

Sigh… _“Yep… I guess I'm supposed to apologize for that but... well... naaa. It was for the best”._

I tried to clamp down on my anger because one it wouldn't make any difference, not even sure she'd notice much, and I really did want her help. _“Why”?_

Oh my God she actually slightly blushed.

_“Well… you and yours were a good source of… um… female... umm... advice. Kind of don’t have anybody to ask questions about some... um... things”._

_“Like what”?_ Wow, and now I turn into chatty girl asking for details. Guess it's ingrained into us all. And with that I was now I’m sitting next to a slightly blushing Oreo eating demon.

 

Just great. Apparently the demons are coming to me for female issues and then erasing the conversation. Really not sure what that implied about me. Hmm she said others so not just me. She continued.

She stopped blushing and now had a slightly pleased expression as she responded.

_“About … things… female... things. I was on a road trip with this old guy, one of my therapists thought that it would be a good idea to get away; this was before I got locked up. Well there was a bit of a giant mess up which resulted in a onetime issue that was, kind of like your ardeur problem. He was... nice in that older guy kind of way, real gentlemen, but he was really... um... big... and you have lots of... um... well... umm... experience with... big. The road trip was part of this TV show and I had a great time, lots of my kind of fun. Scott and Emma ended up rather upset, the actual episode was banned in seventeen countries last time I checked due to violence and religious... issues"._

Fun... Magik's definition of the word tends to involve lots of mayhem. TV show? So did not want to know. Great, it's an apparent yes on me being the sex advisor to demons. So do not want that reputation.

Then she changed the subject. _"Plus erasing the recollection of my presence solved… some issues that your binding attempt caused”._

_“What issues”?_

Magik looked me in the eyes and explained, and as she spoke at length I… remembered.

 

Shit did I remember.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three and beyond takes place after the Laurell K. Hamilton's story Blood Noir. Yea, I'm doing a story within a story (after all it is a sequel to two other stories).

**Part 3: What came before**

 

The screaming woke me up with a start only to find that I was the only one awoken. The two naked male bodies (Micah and Nathaniel) that I was sleeping between stayed soundly asleep.

 

Crap, I knew those screams. The sobs of a girl being… raped, the cries of a child being hurt. The female screams of torture and abuse.

 

I’d heard such screams many times in my life, hell too many. But these specific screams I’ve only heard when I was around…

 

 _“Magik”!_ I cried out as I sat up and scanned my darkened bedroom.

 

Over there, she was leaning against the dresser and was partially lit by moonlight from the window. She was wearing that spandex full body costume of hers with the yellow X and had a brown leather satchel hanging from her left shoulder. She looked fully healed from the damage she’d received at our hands; meaning the blue eyes Arian babe motif was back in full.

 

Which was apparently her real form and not some attempt to get my goat. I have family issues with hot female blondness in that my step sister and step mother are and I’m not.

 

What is Magik like?

 

Think nails on a spiritual blackboard, although others don’t perceive her quite the same as I do. If they have the talent then the scent and the power they can sense, but not the demonic or the screams for some reason. For me it was like being next to a soulless screaming black hole of evil. She just radiates demonic vileness. She has a scent of smoke, pepper, and wolf; although I’m sure a real werebeast would be getting the full nuance of her scent. Her power was hot and sharp, like you could get cut or burned if you touched her. And her presence felt… heavy, like she was make out of lead or something.

 

It’s like the soundtrack of a horror film that just makes you think the big climatic monster attack is about to happen. I’m always antsy and on edge around her.

 

The pale moonlight was also making her look unearthly and very mysterious, almost black and white and her hair was platinum'ish in that pale lighting.

 

 _“Hello Miss Blake”_ she said with a slight smile.

 

 _“Ms. Not Miss”._ Instinctual correction, I was tired of being called Miss by folks.

 

 _“I stand corrected Ms. Blake”._ Was her reply casual reply.

 

Ummmm, now what?

 

We’d tried to kill her, bind her, banish her and she’d taken our best shot and shoved it down our throats (or up our asses depending on who you spoke to). Yea, we’d hurt her badly, but then Magik has broken loose and… well the only reason we were still alive was because I’d offered to do a service for her which had apparently been a bit of a setup as she had wanted that service to provide her open ended access to our world, but we'd surprised her on just how effective we had been. Yea... rah rah us, so effective she'd almost stuffed everybody.

 

In short she’d played us. She was a demon, worse she was a demon lord which was kind of like a demon who was on the demon Wheaties box (breakfast cereal of the damned? Not sure but it tastes like cardboard). Maybe she'd won the gold at the demon Olympics or something. Supposedly the ruler of a dimension called Limbo.

 

And we strongly believed she was also a weredragon, although likely less emphasis on the were and more on the dragon.

 

My two bedmates snored on so I assumed that they were enchanted. Great, private talk with the demon. Not on my list of things I want to do. I tried to think at Jean-Claude but my link to him was closed. I assumed that she had caste some kind of spell like she did before when we first met in the graveyard.

 

The demon spoke again, she had an odd expression on her face, like… was she slightly blushing?

_“Ummm…. One of your… ummm…. boys is rather… Ummm… happy? Could you… Ummm... cover him up”?_

 

Oh… I glanced down. It was Micah. He was fully erect and there was a whole bunch of Micah on display if you get my drift (if not then I’ll just say he had the biggest and longest… shit now I was embarrassed as well).

 

Wait a second, since when do demon get embarrassed about something like this? I mulled that question as I rearranged the scattered sheets to conceal both of my sweeties.

 

_“Thanks, kind of off putting trying to talk to you with all of that just hanging out there pointing at me”._

 

I didn’t answer. So did not want to talk to her. So didn’t have much of a choice. She kept talking. I'd later swear that she turned into a teenager for a minute (which makes her extra evil I suppose).

 

_“Umm… don’t answer if you don’t want to but… does it make a difference? You know… all that… um… size”?_

 

Great, apparently she’s a demon lord by day, inquisitive teenager by night. Or is it the other way around? This can’t possible be a dream, just way too embarrassing. And now demons as asking me sex questions? So not feeling good about that. I actually responded for some reason that escapes me now.

 

_“Yea, if the guy knows how to use it and the woman is… capable of… stretching and doesn’t mind if her cervix gets…. Um… can we not talk about my sex life”?_

_“Ok”._

_“Let’s go talk in the kitchen”._

I could see her trying to get her demon cool look back. Hmmm need to think about this. Maybe we could weaponize male hotness against her. I got a mental image of an entirely inappropriate firing line with a number of naked men holding their weapons as it were (ready, aim, fire!). Oh boy, best not to mention that, doubt she’d find it funny.

 

Ok, I know that sounds silly but I was trying to do anything but think about what was standing next to me.

_“Works for me”._ She replied as I put on a robe and no she didn't turn her back to give me some privacy. Which was off-putting but I suppose I wouldn't turn my back me either after what I did to her. Still, rather creepy.

 

Odd the big… well dick had embarrassed her but she wasn’t looking at me sweeties with the kind of interest or lust that most women looked at them with. The only person she was staring at was me.

 

Great, also not a good feeling. She had said before that I interested her and having a demon interested in you sounds like the start of a horror film where you have a staring role. I had felt sorry for her when she had last departed. Now… Now I realized that my sympathy for her was in inverse proportion to her proximity.

 

I so wanted her gone, so knew that this was going to be another one of those events that I hoped me and mine survived.

 

We went down the hallway of my rental house, my original house was being rebuilt because we’d kind of completely firebombed it with thermite while trying to snuff Magik with a binding spell. She’d been hurt and had gotten cranky about it. Cranky in that swear to do me a service or I’m going to kill everybody kind of mood while what was left of my house explode in slow motion flames (they found my stove three blocks away, good thing I live out in the country side).

 

I put a cold cup of coffee in the microwave and rummage up some black Russian tea as I remembered she didn’t like coffee (why the hell am I making tea for her?). And that’s how we ended up sitting at my kitchen table staring at each other while sipping our drinks. Oh, and she was eating some Oreo’s we had (Nathaniel loves them).

 

 _“Your stronger now”_ she observed as she slurped some tea.

 

Which was true, I’d accidentally formed my own triad of power with Nathaniel (a wereleopard and now one of my boyfriends) and Damian (non master class vampire and also now one of my boyfriends). Which was partially caused by the _ardeur_ and partially caused by my necromancy; still trying to figure that one out.

 

What was the _ardeur?_ It’s… um… well... shit. I’m kind of… shit... am... a living sexual vampire, meaning that I feed off of sex. Need to feed off of sex. Really don’t like explaining this and me a good ex Catholic girl. Ex because of my zombie raising ability and not because I don’t believe, I’m Episcopalian now.

 

I also carry several forms of the lycanthrope virus, which is not supposed to be possible as one infection is meant to block others. I have leopard, lion, tiger, and wolf somehow. I don’t shift into an animal shape, we’re not sure why but we suspect the vampire marks that I have from Jean-Claude might be the reason (but nobody is absolutely sure).

 

Then she scented the air, meaning she drew back her upper lip and the air hissed slightly as she inhaled tasting the scents. Cats do this as they have additional scent sensing organ that gets exposed when a cat does this. I’ve seen my wereleopard and werelion friends do this many a time. But she was no cat, the only animal form we knew of, well suspected, was dragon.

 

 _“Is your dragon form real”?_ I asked.

 

_“Yes… Crap, I was doing it again wasn’t I”?_

_“Doing what”?_

 

_“Tasting the air. Very annoying. I’ve always had really good hearing, but the ability to smell and taste scents only happens here and only after I… manifested as dragon. So very irritating to gleam so much information about somebody. Now I know why Logon always smoked those annoying cigars”._

 

Hmm, wonder who Logan was, so not going to ask.

 

She’d manifested as a dragon when she’d been captured and tortured by the now Ex vampire Master of Cairo. It had been a ritual called the rape by fang and claw and… well he and all of his court were dead. Eaten was the common belief, but nobody really knew.

 

Dragons were an extinct apex predator. They were omnivorous but it was widely believed to have preferred magical creatures as prey. Most weres were rather ineffective around Magik, especially when she went dominant as they would either turn submissive or frankly want to flee. It was their animal nature that caused it, submission before the alpha. Fight or flight and with dragons it was apparently all about the flight as fight was not a good idea.

 

 _“Do you have a half human half dragon form”?_ The stronger weres were able to do this (think wolfman). The weaker weres were only one thing or another.

 

 _“No. Just dragon and only here”._ She sipped tea and then surprised me by providing more detail.

 

_“Big. Not... like your weres. I don’t shift into a horse or pony sized dragon, I’m… I think I’m about fifty or sixty feet nose to tail, maybe longer as it’s not like I have a tape measure. Also have wings that work. Flying is fun. And it’s not virus based so you can’t catch it from me, not that I usually leave survivors that is”._

Ok. Concerned about the survivors statement. Ok, really really concerned.

 

_“Can you breath fire”?_

_“Yep, but it’s like the mother of all heartburns to do it so I try to avoid it”._

Interesting, she’s sharing, that was something she really didn’t do last time and the one time we briefly shared she also make me answer a question as well before she’d answer.

 

Wait a second, suddenly she’s trying to be chummy with me? Damn, need to get my head in the game.

_“Why are you here Magik? Please don’t tell me there’s another pyramid you want to blow up or something, the last one’s still burning and nobody knows how to put it out or whatever the heck is burning in under all that rock”._

_“I do”_ she replied.

 

I looked at her with confusion and she answered with slightly more detail.

 

 _“I know what’s burning”._ Ok, back to be enigmatic. I resisted the urge to ask, just knew I’d be horrified by the answer. Bet it was some gate to hell.

 

_“So again, why are you here? Please tell me you’re not hiring me again”?_

_“No Ms. Blake, I don’t think this will be a paying job, pure Pro Bono, enlightened self interest and all that”._

I just gave her a look of annoyance. Yea me, staring down the big bad demon! I’d have been more impressed with myself if I’d been less concerned with why she suddenly was just talking. Meaning why did she suddenly act as if she wanted to be in my good graces?

 

Magik had a slightly resigned and frustrated expression as she continued.

_“I have… issues. Some of which were in part caused by you and yours, and some issues that involve you and yours. Shards, I never should have fed the strays as it were”._

Why oh why does everything she say always sound so confusing?

 

She then gave me a glare. _"Or you"._

No sure what to make of that. Before I could ask why the glare I noticed something. She was drinking her tea with her left hand and I finally noticed that her left pinkie had a slightly torn nail. She saw the direction of my gaze and answered the unspoken question.

 

 _“Tore a claw as I dug out the sixth one. The ground was more stone then dirt”._ Shit, she said claw. She must have been in dragon form.

 

 _“Sixth what”?_ I asked. And then everything turned to utter and complete shit.

 

She sighed, opened her satchel and dumped the contents on the kitchen table. It was… oh **shit**! It was masks, just like the kind the Harlequin wore!

 

The Harlequin were the Vampire Council’s enforcers. They were vampires, most with weres or human servants. Some were powerful enough to be on the council if they had wished it. The very use of their name was forbidden, meaning if you spoke it they would kill you for using it, unless they first gave permission. The secret baddies of the vampire world that in part kept most of the other vampires in line.

 

There were two red masks, two black masks, and one white mask. Red means harm, white means observation, black means death.

 

I slowly picked up one of the black masks, while franticly hoping that this did not mean what I was thought it did, meaning that the Harlequin were at war with Magik. If that was true then that meant the Council was at war with her as well.

 

I asked a very important question _“More details please”._ See! I can be polite and even say please. She answered.

 

_“As you know I took control of the surviving vampires in Cairo when I promoted and elevated the surviving captain of the guard to be the new Master of the City after I killed and… consumed my attackers when I first manifested Dragon. I also took over the weres as_ _Ōyutaka Masachika, the Japanese werelion who pledged himself to my service, is my proxy to control of all the weres of Cairo as he's frankly the strongest of the lot”._

 

Yea… Ōyutaka, a Japanese sumo wrestler turned the biggest Fing werelion I’d ever seen (and that was just in his human form). And the new master of Cairo was now a day walking vampire due to a power boost from Magik after she had destroyed that GOD machine called the great pyramid of Khufu.

 

And it wasn’t just Cairo. All of upper Egypt had been declared off limits to the Vampire Council according to my main sweetie Jean-Claude (who is the vampire master of St. Louis, I’m his human servant by the way and yes it’s a long story).

 

That apparently was causing problems as the Vampire Council didn’t like being told what to do (think evil caffeinated homicidal kindergartners lacking any nap time and you have most council behaviors social interactions to a tee). Only the baldest of the bad vampires ignored the council.

 

 _“Well… apparently the Council decided that I’d left and they started sniffing around Cairo with the intent of reasserting control. One thing led to another and…”_.

 

She gestured at the two red and black masks. _“They then learned that I return from time to time. I got angry about my instructions being disregarded by them. I killed four of the Harlequin because I had said Upper Egypt was off limits and there had to be consequences for such violations. That’s when I learned of some additional issues”._

 

Shit, it must be war!

 

Double shit she said Harlequin!

 

Oh triple crap! There is no way, no way me and mine are going to get involved in that death sentence.

 

OH… crap to the Nth degree I think we now were! Be easier to just have her kill us. I sat there stunned as she continued.

_“The sixth Harlequin survived my… um… eating his animal to call, werelion by the way, and screamed that I but bide a moment while I was busy digging him out from beneath this old Egyptian ruin of a temple he was hiding under. He was wearing the white mask by the way. I had already killed the other four on two prior encounters and the fifth on this encounter. First two has been wearing red masks, the second two black masks. Stupidly I paused to hear what he had to say. I think… dragons are extra inquisitive or something. And… they like playing with their food, rather like a cat or an orca”._

Had a quick mental image of us being seals. Not good. Yea some of us were sharks to push the analogy, but orcas eat sharks, even great whites.

 

Then it registered, the Harlequin has started with red masks (harm), switched to black (death), but has switched to white (observe) once they realized that Magik was still a factor. They must have first thought they were just dealing with the new Master of Cairo.

 

Thank GOD! That meant that it wasn’t a war! Yea!!!!

 

Then Magik explained a bit more and it was right out of left field, and I think it was worse then war.

 

_“He informed me that the council wants me to join them and take the empty seventh seat”._


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I got to thinking, there was no way that Illyana left Cat with Anita without knowing lots more about Anita. That implied additional interactions with Anita that convinced Illyana that leaving the most important thing in the world to Illyana (Cat) with Anita made the most sense. Then I did more thinking about possible Illyana impacts and the story within a story was born.
> 
> Plus I like to stir things up. Rather curious how many of the readers are Illyana/X-men fans and how many are Anita Blake fans? If one side or the other wants more detail/history then write a comment (hint hint). Part of this chapter is a variation of stuff I got from Wikipedia on the vampire council (one should give credit when it is due).

**Part 4a: Council**

Shit! The council!

 

What is the council you ask? Well I suppose a brief summary is warranted.

They are a group of seven vampires, six currently as one slot is empty, who collectively governed the vampires of the world. Well, most of the vampires. Not all vampires obey and some of those vampires were way beyond scary strong, or just crazy, or both; and the council left them alone so long as they didn't make too much of a public mess.

 

The council had been formed by Marmee Noir, an ancient female vampire who was currently in an enchanted asleep and so wanted me as her pet; more on that later. The council set the rules of vampire society and even had an enforcement arm called the Harlequin. Each council member also had their own court (followers). The council is based in France.

 

They are cruel, vicious, self centered, and love playing with others. And to quote Magik, playing in this context is like how orca's play with their food. Think mean girls and then dial it up a few thousand notches and add in some extra nasty habits. The members, in no particular order were.

 

 

 **The Dragon** \- **Female vampire** (And no this is not Magik)

 

A enigmatic vampire who's true name is unknown. She's an old vampire (hell all the council are old). She created a vampire back in Roman times that currently resides here; goes by the name of Primo. She had sent Primo to St. Louis in an attempt to dethrone or destabilize Jean-Claude but that ended up fizzling (but it had been close).

 

She apparently has the power to draw all of the energy from another vampire, killing it permanently. She can project her power from a distance. I'd been told that she had formerly sired many vampires, but has remained largely secluded during recent centuries.

 

Apparently rather anti social and very scary. Never actually met her, don't ever want to. I think Jean-Claude and her have conversed several times since Primo got put in his place.

 

 

**Padma - Male Vampire**

 

Also known as the Master of Beasts, is originally Indian and wears a turban (which he still thinks is the height of fashion). He is one of the weaker members of the Vampire Council as he can only gain strength from his human servant through direct feeding (heck may be the weakest but weak in this context is relative). His unique power is the ability to "call" all animals, not just a single species. Using this power, Padma can bend animals and almost all shapeshifters to his will, and can also use the power as if it were a shapeshifter's.

 

Magik supposedly kicked his ass when she assaulted their archives so don't think dragon, or her dragon form, is susceptible. But... who knows? Maybe she has to be in dragon form?

 

He is a member of the only other surviving triumvirate with Gideon (male were) and Captain Thomas Carswell (male human). I made Padma surrender his utter bastard of a son, by the name of Fernando, in return for sparing Padma life when he and some council members came to town to see if Jean-Claude would accept a council seat (yea I would have died as well but I got the drop on him. Really lucky). I then gave Fernado to Sylvie, a woman he had repeatedly raped in an attempt to capture the werewolves. Sylvie and I had not been on good terms up until then; afterwards we were buds. Sylvie killed Fernando and now keeps his bones in a box in her room.

 

Padma absolutely hates our guts and would cheerfully kill us all (plus I don't think he thinks of women as people, just... receptacles). And yea, I don't like him either.

 

Hmm... need to let Magik know about his hobbies as I don't think she'd approve and she seems to get very... upset about certain things. Ahhh, payback can be such a bich.

 

 

**The Traveler - Male Vampire**

 

It is unknown what the Traveler's true name is. He has the ability to possess other vampire's bodies, though that vampire's consciousness is still awake (which can be real icky as he then likes to do sexual things with the body that the owner may not be into).

This seems to be limited only to vampires considerably weaker than himself; Jean-Claude was once the victim of this ability back when he was a member of Belle Morte's court.

 

He also has the ability to lend power to lesser vampires temporarily, bolstering their inherent strengths, and he can shield others from sensing him. Nobody has ever seen the Traveler's real body (oh forgot to mention the council is paranoid as well). Magik said she was apparently able to block his ability to take over vampires in her vicinity when she raided the archives.

 

He likes to claim that council members do not fight other council members; but he also does not like Padma at all (and I suspect loves to piss in his soup as it were so I suppose he's actually somewhat, kind of, don't take it to the band, on our side in a slight way).

 

He's strictly homosexual, and his human servant, Balthasar, is also his lover. A large part of their relationship appears to revolve around the enjoyment they each derive from The Traveler possessing new bodies for use in their sexual antics (as I said, icky).

 

Old, powerful, and jaded. Hmm... council members do not fight council members... might that be why they want her to join? Might it be more the just a rule or a tradition?

 

 

**Morte D'Amour - Male Vampire**

 

His name accurately translates to "death of love" or "death from love". Morte D'Amour is a rotting vampire, meaning he can appear to decompose even to the point of becoming skeletal (utterly gross in a massive freak-out kind of way, but no stench), as well as the ability to cause corruption with his bite.

 

All vampires with either ability appear to be of his bloodline. Damian, my vampire to call and my vampire servant, has told me that Morte D'Amour had formerly sired many vampires and was responsible for the ancient tales of vampires being largely corpse-like in appearance. Nasty nasty person.

 

 

**Mr Oliver - Male Vampire, dead (empty council slot)**

 

Was known as "the Earthmover". I spoke with him at length and to his claimed knowledge, he was the oldest living vampire. Oliver was roughly 4 feet tall, with a sloping brow, absent chin, and really great hair. He looked like he was a member of the Homo erectus species, which would make him a pre-human vampire; which means he'd have to be a million freaking years old! Was he? I don't know. Part of me thinks he just looked like Homo erectus, the other part of me... well I'm not sure and I think I don't want to be sure.

 

Mr. Oliver's abilities included the ability to cause earthquakes, the power to "draw blood from a distance," levitation of himself or others, the ability to remain awake during the day and mask his vampire nature almost totally. He also had voice powers similar to Jean-Claude's, and the ability to call snakes and snake-like supernatural creatures.

 

He had been an opponent of the liberalization of vampire laws. He'd come up with the plan to kill Jean-Claude, become master of St. Louis, then force all vampires in the city to engage in a killing spree to create a political climate hostile to vampire legalization.

 

He defeated Jean-Claude, but I killed him before he could sacrifice Jean-Claude and begin his plan (just luck dumb on my part as he had agreed to not use his abilities). I defeated Mr. Oliver and his servant by ripping out his heart and throat (a real red letter day that was). I almost died but... well I'm still here.

 

I don't think... I don't think... I... I was a bit different after that.

 

 

**Belle Morte - Female Vampire**

 

Beautiful, pale skinned, dark haired, with eyes the color of dark honey and a body that was... yea she... well everybody is attracted to her. Everybody. To have known her is to love her and... well she's known me. I'm not gay... but I guess I'm gay for her. It was not actually physical but mental... but... yea. Ummm.....

 

Belle Morte (or "Beautiful Death") is apparently personally responsible for the rise of "sexy vampires". She is at least 2,000 years old. Her abilities include the power to induce lust from a distance (extending to at least hundreds of people at a distance of miles), the ability to draw power from lust, and the ability to call all of the "great cats" (presumably lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, etc.).

 

All members of Belle-Morte's bloodline tend to be selected for their beauty, and some of the vampires in her line are visited by the ardeur, becoming incubi or succubi that need to feed off of lust as well as blood, but able to also project the ardeur to control others (which includes me, the first human servant so blessed... so not happy about that but I do have to admit the orgasms are really fantastic).

 

Belle-Morte can make mental contact with all new vampires of her bloodline, and can serve as a mental "bridge" between willing members of her bloodline. In some cases, Belle Morte has shown the power to actually "resculpt" the features of vampires in her bloodline, making them still more beautiful than when they were chosen. Jean-Claude and Asher are both part of Belle Morte's bloodline (more on them later).

 

It has been speculated (speculation my ass, it's a fact) that Belle Morte can use her control over the vampires in her lineage to cause "problem" that always seem to work out to her benefit, as in the case with the Master Vampire of London who seemingly went crazy out of the blue and killed his Kiss of Vampires.

 

Oh, and she'd tried to bind Magik to her only to apparently find the bindings being reversed because, to quote Magik. The weaker cannot involuntary perform such bindings on the stronger.

 

 

**Marmee Noir - Female vampire (last and oh so not least)**

 

Also called The Sweet Dark or as the Mother Of All Darkness or my favorite term Mommie Dearest. Marmee Noir is the notional leader of all vampires and the head of the Vampire Council. She's apparently both a vampire and a lycanthrope at once, were-cave lion. According to several of the vampires, she was the first vampire, which means that she had to predate Mr. Oliver (which frankly part of me is just not buying).

 

However, it has also been hinted that she is the Mother vampire in a metaphorical, rather than literal sense, having created the rules and culture that governs the vampire race. Peace, justice and the vampire way, which means you can strike out peace and justice.

 

I think... I think she's a unique type of vampire, distinctly different and more powerful, from all later descendents; perhaps not even a vampire at all but a unique type of monster with vampiric traits that can create vampires. Her powers include control over several species of vampire/lycanthrope mixes, the ability to project her attention and mental powers, and a deep deep control over darkness.

 

Marmee Noir and her vampire/lycanthrope followers have been "sleeping" for centuries due to some spell cast on her by rebellious followers. Sleeping, but now partially awake, and so very interested in me, just like... shit. I so hope Magik is not interested in me in that way.

 

Belle Morte is gathering her power to challenge Noir for leadership of the Vampire Council, but I think Belle is naively underestimating Marmee Noir's true nature and powers. If I had to bet then I wouldn't bet on Belle Morte no mater what the odds.

 

**Part 4b: Prep**

I was stunned. And confused. _“I thought only vampires could be on the council”?_

And the rabbit hole just kept going as she replied with a scowl.

_“That’s… kind of one of the issues. I’m very... upset about that little problem”._

Not good. No, not good at all. Really hoped that she was not a sexual vampire like me. If so then we were so screwed, and not in a good way.

 

She continued. _“I find that I now have a compulsion to return to this world from time to time. Like, I not only belong but I have a responsibility to be here. After the second time I returned I realized it was the vampires that I took over in Cairo. By making the head of the guard the new Master, and by shoving power into him, I apparently somewhat bound him to me like a Master of a City does to all vampires in their city. Rather like that blood oath thing that they do”._

Crap. That meant that she was the true Master of Cairo regardless of whoever had the title. Which likely explained the compulsion to return. They needed her as she was the power that kept them alive and functional.

 

I asked a question as she was being so chatty. _“Um… how did that happen and… um what are the details of you problem”?_

Please don't let it be sex. Please don't let it be sex. Please please please don't let it be sex. Just for once let it not be sexual. Pleassssssseeee don't let it be about sex!

She looked at me and sipped more tea and them muttered _"Not time like the present I suppose"._

 

She then waved her right hand in some complex pattern and I felt my link to Jean-Claude snap into existence, like she’s stopped doing something. At the same time I heard the gentle snores in the bedroom stop.

 

( _Ma petite you are suddenly awake? Ahhh… Childe I see)._

I felt Jean-Claude grow cold and locked down. That stillness that only a vampire can do. That stillness that says great danger.

 

A few seconds later Micah and Nathaniel emerged from the hallway walking very silently (they are both wereleopards). Magik's back was to the hallway but she appeared to sense them (or just guessed that they were there). She spoke.

 

_"Don't do anything... rash"._

 

They didn't. They came around the table and stood by me (naked, weres were so casual about nudity). Apparently she had regained her demon cool so all that... equipment in view didn't faze her, plus... Micah wasn't exactly pointing anymore.

 

Magik smiled and spoke.

 

 _"Time I suppose for the meet and greet. Informed consent and all that. Please tell your vampire that I wish to converse with him, you..."._ She gestured at both Mica and Nathaniel. _"Them, Richard Zeeman, Damian (vampire part of the_ _triumvirate I formed with_ _Nathaniel), and Asher. And that conversation will take place now"._

Jean-Claude spoke to my mind. ( _I have awoken our Richard. He is... annoyed and does not wish to participate)._ I relayed that information to her. Gee what a surprise that Richard was being difficult. Her answer was brief and booked no discussion.

 

 _"Tell him that he has five minutes and then I'm teleporting him wolf ass to the blue room. Oh, and no guards. Just... us. Guards will be eaten"._ Ha ha, so not funny... um... shit that might not be a joke.

Micah and Nathaniel looked at me and I nodded. They went to get dressed. She apparently knew of the blue room (a rather nice living room in the catacombs, done up with blue silk hanging curtains to conceal the stone cave walls, great big screen TV). Which was not good, meant she'd done her homework on our layout and likely our security as well.

 

I got up to get dressed. Like... what could we do? At least she wasn't threatening to kill us... yet.

 

Jean-Claude replied to me. _(I have contacted Damian and Asher. They will take some time to join us unless Childe wishes to expedite the travel)._

She didn't so that's how a half hour later we were all in the blue room with an angry demon _._


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for a meet and greet. I've decided to include intros for each new character in support of those readers who have not read Anita Blake stories. Again content taken from Wikipedia. Hmm maybe there should be a wickedpedia entry for Illyana?
> 
> This chapter sets the tone for the rest of the story and I kind of went all out. I actually don't know the complete story details yet as I only have a partial outline (but it looks like one hell of a party).
> 
> A metaphor might be cutting the break lines of a dynamite truck and letting it roll down hill into a refinery just to watch what happens.

**Part 5a: Blue Room**

The blue room. One of the living rooms that Jean-Claude had in the catacombs beneath the circus. Blue drapes hid the stone walls hence its name. There were various throw rugs and some nice leather sofas and chairs, and soft lighting. Plus a great 4k big screen TV that was only rarely used, seemed kind of a waste to me but I guess one had to keep up the Jones.

 

Above us was the Circus of the Damned. A nightly carnival in a converted warehouse that now housed a big top tent, lots of side shows, food booths and souvenir shopping. Thrill to the acts under the tent, gasp as real zombies are raised (not by me), gaze upon the half lizard half female creature, thrill at the rides, and eat county fair food until you bloat.

 

The top of the warehouse had these giant clowns with red eyes and fangs that were lit by search lights.

 

People totally loved it. It was a major tourist attraction in St. Lewis and a steady money maker. I was more blasé as I knew the monsters really did want to eat you.

 

But below the circus were the catacombs. An extensive series of caves and artificial passages. Back in probation there had been a massive speakeasy down here. Run by the vampires I might add, who siphoned off more then just money.

 

This was where Jean-Claude slept by day (which is a total secret by the way); him and a whole bunch of vampires. We had lots of security composed of wererats, werewolves, werehyenas, and some other creatures as not everybody was a vampire and day does come which so put the vampires to sleep.

 

Dining hall, massive kitchen, banquette facilities, bedrooms, prison, arsenal. Hell, we even had a gym and a gun range down here.

 

Magik was sitting in a chair listening to her iPod and reading some ancient looking leather clad book while we waited for Asher and Richard to show up (Asher could fly and was bring Richard in, for some unknown reason Magik had relented on her threat to teleport him here). She had teleported Micah, Nathaniel, and I right to the room; thereby showing that she did know way more about our setup then we were happy about.

 

Magik has allowed security to bring some refreshments. I was having some coffee while Magik had grabbed a Mountain Dew and a blueberry muffin.

 

Currently Jean-Claude and Damian were here as well. Both looked like they has just fed, which was wise as who knew what might happen as this was likely going to be one heck of an interesting meeting.

 

I was currently sitting in a sofa next to Jean-Claude, half in his lap, with his arms around me. Micah and Damian were sitting opposite on two other couches. Nathaniel was sitting next to Micah.

 

The conversation had died out as we waited for the others. For some reason I ended up staring at Magik. She just sat there, occasionally turning a page, sometimes frowning at the book, or maybe at something she read. There was something about her... The more I looked the more I saw.

 

She was almost rage incarnate. Angry. Filled with hate. it felt like she could barely contain it, like she was bursting with it. As she was made from it. Rage in all it's permutations, flavors, varieties.

 

Yummy yummy tasty rage.

 

I had recently gained the ability to eat rage and anger. As some others could feed remotely off of lust or fear or pain I could now feed off of rage and anger if I choose. I had taken back the rage that Richard had gotten from me, which was a blessing for him as rage is so not something he was good at dealing with.

 

She smelled... like fresh bread for the starving.

 

I imagined how it would taste. The flavor, the sensation. Like swirling a fine wine in your mouth or a great cheese. She burned so bright and there was just so much of it. It looked endless. All I'd have to do is reach out and...

 

_"I wouldn't if I were you Ms. Blake"._

Her sudden statement broke my concentration and I realized that I'd been fixated upon her. She continued without even looking up from her book.

 

_"Just make the problem worse... well not worse I suppose, just reduce the time span; and you really won't like the consequences of that"._

 

I stiffened up and got hostile. _"What the hell did you just do"?!_ Everybody else went tense at my outburst.

 

She shut her book and looked up with a slightly exasperated expression. _"I did nothing. I felt you reaching out, you were about to try and... do something that would not be wise"._

_"You were staring at her very intently ma petite. What just occurred"?_ Jean-Claude softly asked.

 

I explained. _"Rage... she's almost composed of it. So much rage. I... felt drawn in like I wanted to take a bite"._

_"Eden's apple Ms. Blake. Don't recommend it"._ She stated as she opened her book once again and went back to reading.

 

Jean-Claude and the rest of us exchanged glances. Something had just happened but we, or more importantly I, didn't understand. At least not yet. Jean-Claude looked very concerned.

 

We continued to wait and I thought and looked at things other then her.

 

Interesting choice of people by her, the core of our... hmmm, well my magical powers. I suppose a brief summary of the attendees and the interdependencies would make sense.

 

First there is Jean-Claude, our vampire master, the center of the triumvirate that contains me and Richard. Jean-Claude had gained the biggest power boost as he was the center, but we had all benefited in power and other abilities. For one, vampires now couldn't roll me with their powers (the really strong ones that were stronger then Jean-Claude could, but that number was quite small). Jean-Claude had also grown more... ruthless which was totally from me and I was completely ok with as it was a big bad world.

 

The center also can draw power from the others if the center is in need of food or power; which can result in the death of the others if they don't eat or feed. That had happened a few times and now I regularly feed the ardeur to avoid having that happen to Damian and Nathaniel.

 

Then there is me, necromancer and center of the triumvirate that contains Damian and Nathaniel. I was the center so I benefited the most, but I also had gotten some of Nathaniel passivity and submissiveness which allowed for better relationships as I no longer felt I had to always be top dog about everthing.

 

Micah is Leopard king to my Leopard queen. A bonding of a different kind. We complemented each other and rule the Pard, but I have veto power over everything.

 

Finally there is Asher, lover to both Jean-Claude and I, and Jean-Claude's second in command. No bindings but... we were close. Odd that Magik had included him.

 

Our group additional powerful vampires and weres, but only the center of my circle were here or were on their way.

 

And all were my lovers (ick I hate saying that, sounds so... slutty). Some very full time, others part time (i.e. Richard). And I have additional part time lovers as well, part of the feeding rotation for the _ardeur_ (Ick! Ick! Ick! I hate having to explain that! Makes me feel like the queen of sluts or something).

 

Finally Richard and Asher walked in. Richard glared at Magik and then at Jean-Claude. Great, likely annoyed to see me in the arms of another man. Asher looked a bit smug so I suspected that he'd done something to annoy Richard as well.

 

So... who are we?

 

 

**Part 5b: Introductions**

 

**Jean-Claude -Male vampire**

 

Master of the City of St Louis. Jean-Claude is my lover. He is supposedly between 400 and 600 years old as he likes to be coy about his specific age. He is the head of the triumvirate consisting of me and Richard. He is what in earlier times would be called an incubus as he carries the ardeur, which is like a sexual vampirism. Which he involuntarily passed onto me and is very sorry about.

 

Jean-Claude is a French-born. He was a favorite of Belle Morte for his eyes (Belle actually had a collection of different vampires all selected for different shades of blue eyes like she was collecting gem stones), and, like many vampires of Belle Morte's line, Jean-Claude was selected for his almost perfect mortal beauty. He came to St. Louis and, indeed, the United States itself to escape Belle Morte's court (something that Belle never really forgave me for doing as she feels that nobody gets to leave her or would want to leave her).

 

Jean-Claude's daytime lair is the sub-basement of the Circus of the Damned which is his as the owner of the JC Corporation. He also owns and runs the clubs Guilty Pleasures (strip club for woman where male weres and vampires strip), The Laughing Corpse (comedy club), and Danse Macabre (dance club).

 

Perhaps because the patrons of Guilty Pleasures expect it, Jean-Claude tends to dress the way vampires are stereotypically expected to, wearing skin-tight leather pants, thigh high boots, and antique shirts with large amounts of lace and long cuffs, left open just enough to give glimpses of his bare chest (and yea he makes lace look very masculine... yum yum me like).

 

He's 5'11", with black shoulder-length softly curling hair, and midnight-blue eyes. He has long-fingered hands, and his voice is rich, melodious, textured and seductive. He has a cross-shaped scar on his left breast from where he was burned by a cross. He also has whip scars on his back (he had been a wiping boy for an aristocratic youth back when he was mortal), although he hides them from most folks with his vampire mind-powers.

 

**Micah Callahan - Male were leopard**

Micah Callahan arrived in St. Louis as the Nimir-Raj of the Maneater Clan. He merged his Pard with my Pard, the Blooddrinkers Pard. Together we rule as Nimir-Raj (King) and Nimir-Ra (Queen). Micah is founder and coordinator of the Lycanthrope Coalition, and is one of my live-in lovers.

 

Micah has many unique powers as a shape-shifter. He can heal others by (calling flesh), meaning forcing them to transform. He has the ability to shape-shift quickly, and is not tired or ill from the effort.

 

He has these amazing chartreuse yellow/green eyes that won't shift back to human eyes, a result of too much time in animal form, which was caused by a really bad and now dead man called Chimera. He is about the same height and same size as me, with rich brown hair, very large...um... genitalia, and is extremely easy-going.

 

He does, however, have an antagonistic relationship with Richard, who feels that Micah has usurped his place. Which I suppose he kind of has but... well... tough. Micah is always there for me, Richard frankly isn't. Micah never judges me, Richard excels at it. Micah accepts me for who I am and follows my lead. Micah helps me feed the ardeur and Richard won't. Micah... Micah never emotionally hurts me or makes me cry or feel bad about myself. Richard... does. And that's why broke up for the last time (I think).

 

 

**Nathaniel Graison- Male were leopard**

 

Nathaniel is in his early twenties, approximately 5'6" with long mahogany auburn hair, lilac eyes, "pretty" rather than handsome features, and a muscular swimmer's body. In his animal form, Nathaniel is a black were-leopard. He's a stripper at Guilty Pleasures, (stage name: Brandon). Nathaniel is member of my second triumvirate and before that he was my pomme de sang (a favored person to feed upon). I sometimes get obsessed about Nathaniel's eyes and his vanilla scent.

 

He is another of my live in lovers (yea I have a massive sex life, not my fault so deal with it).

 

Nathaniel has been reluctant to share details of his past. I've learn that Nathaniel's parents died when he was young, and that Nathaniel and his older brother Nicky were in the custody of an abusive man. Nicky protected Nathaniel at first, but also died when Nathaniel was quite young, at which point Nathaniel ran away.

 

At some point in his late teens, Nathaniel was found by a were-leopard named Gabriel (former leader of the Blooddrinkers Pard, I killed him when he tried to kill me in a snuff film he was making. Yea, not a nice guy). By that point, Nathaniel was a drug addicted prostitute, and was so submissive and masochistic that he was literally incapable of saying no to any torture proposed to him. Gabriel helped Nathaniel stop taking drugs but was unable or unwilling to address Nathaniel's other problems and simply pimped Nathaniel out after making him a wereleopard. He did restraining customers from taking too much advantage of him.

 

After I took control of the St. Louis Pard, Nathaniel attached himself to me for protection. Nathaniel has been becoming more assertive and self-reliant, if only to please me. He is still highly submissive and is very happy to take the "wife" position in my increasingly large... um... damn the word harem works I suppose. He does most of the cleaning, cooking, and generally providing lots of emotional support.

 

Richard has a lot of problems that I associate with Nathaniel. He looks down upon submissives and male gay sex as well. This helps cause some of the problems between Richard and I, but we both do just dandy on our own when it comes to causing issues between us.

 

 

**Damian - Male vampire**

 

Damian is a green eyed, red haired Viking vampire. Through a series of accidents and emergencies, he became my vampire servant (similar to the role of a vampire's human servant) and eventual part time lover, and also ended up becoming member of my second triumvirate with Nathaniel when the magic went wild and we bonded as a triumvirate. Which incidentally made him a day walker as well.

 

Damian was made by "She who must not be named", later revealed to be a female vampire by the name of Morvoren (God, vampires just love melodrama, and considering how old some of them are, they may have invented it. I mean... she who must not be named? Guess she should start dating Vordormort from Harry Potter).

 

He tends to have a calming effect on me if he is touching me, supposedly because he was taught by she-who-made-him that her will was all important. His appearance changed slightly a while ago, just enough to make him breathtakingly beautiful. The ardeur does that sometimes.

 

He's approximately 1000 years old, Damian will never be a master vampire, but because of the additional power of our triumvirate, he can physically walk in daylight. Although doing so tends to drive him into a fear-induced insanity episode (vampires do so tend to get worked up about sunlight). This likely comes from witnessing Perrin, one of his Viking comrades, who was also turned into a vampire, bursting into flames from walking in the sunlight while he and the aforementioned Viking were in the "care" of Morvoren. Yea, supper bitch with a capital B, and a capital I, and a capital T and a... you get the picture. I have a few 9mm rounds just waiting for her if I ever get the chance.

 

Damian had been living in my basement until my house went poof, currently he's staying at the Circus while my house is rebuilt. He works at Danse Macabre.

**Asher -Male vampire**

 

Asher is a Master Vampire of Belle Morte's line, and is both my lover and Jean-Claude's. Asher was formerly part of a menage-a-trois with Jean-Claude and Asher's human servant Julianna, until the Church burned Julianna at the stake as a witch. The Church also tried to "burn the devil" out of Asher with holy water in a form of Chinese water torture. The holy water left Asher badly scarred on one side, and for many years he blamed Jean-Claude for rescuing him too late, and for failing to save Julianna.

 

Bisexual with a heavy emphasis on the male.

 

Jean-Claude's love for Asher allowed me to see beyond the terrible scarring and I've come to love him. Which allowed Asher to finally overcoming his hatred for Jean-Claude (though Asher still carries massive emotional baggage). He's obsessive at times, moody, insecure, tends to delight in being a drama queen, really into S&M, and enjoys being a massive pain in the ass (and annoyingly those time appear to be growing in frequency).

 

Asher is Jean-Claude's second-in-command.

 

His main vampiric power is fascination: people who are caught by his gaze are fascinated by him and can't look away; Belle Morte said people he rolls completely become "love-besotted fools" and follow him around. Oh, and his bite is orgasmic, and his victim can have flashbacks of the orgasm hours or days later (yea... really, I... um... yea... like wow. Ummmm... I think I need to... stop... Oh! Yea... just had a small one, need to stop thinking about that before... before... Oh!   Damn it! Time to switch topics).

 

He has recently acquired Hyena as animal to call, and yea, he also can make lace look masculine as well. I swear it's a ancient vampire power being able to do that as modern men just look sissy.

**Richard Zeeman - Male werewolf**

Richard is Ulric (wolf-king) of the local werewolf pack (Thronos Rokke), and is a sometimes lover and now very ex fiancé. He's a junior high school science teacher who has to hide his lycanthropy as he wants to keep his job (Can't have the big bad wolf teaching the kids now). He's been getting emotional therapy and has rejoined Jean Claude and I with a somewhat more accepting attitude then he has had in the past.

 

Still wants the white picket fence and all that with me and... and I do as well. But... not going to happen for so many many reasons.

 

He's compassionate, educated, and naive. We live in a bad world with bad people and I do bad things to the bad people. He hates that he's a werewolf, a monster, and he hates the monsters. Doesn't help that he thinks I'm a monster as well, sometimes the biggest. Well, he did until Magik showed up that first time she was here.

Richard stands at six feet and one inches, with brown hair, brown eyes, and has what I'll say is almost perfect good looks. Seeing him naked or shirtless just does things to me that usually reduces my IQ.

Richard is an extremely powerful alpha werewolf. His general werewolf abilities include superhuman strength, speed, endurance, healing, agility, and senses (able to smell the emotional state of humans and night vision), but to levels far superior to those of most werewolves. Even prior to forming a triumvirate with Jean-Claude and I, Richard was one of the most powerful shapeshifters in the area. However, his inner turmoil frequently prevents him from making effective use of his powers.

 

He lifts weights and studies martial arts in an effort to be able to engage in pack fights without using deadly force. His "beast" is extraordinarily strong, and Richard can often control other shapeshifters' changing by his raw power. He is one of the few shapeshifters able to partially shape shift. Richard also has the extremely rare ability to "feed the pack" - sharing some of his magical power by feeding his own blood to pack members.

 

 

**Me (Anita Blake) - Female necromancer, Marshal, and general bad ass**

 

I am a petite woman of mixed German and Mexican heritage with curly long hair and pale skin with scars scattered over my body. I tend to be direct and flippant in my speech and have a tendency to write checks with my mouth that so far I've been able to cash. Yea, I like to poke at the monsters, bugs them to no end. I am an animator, which is a person who raises zombies, and a vampire executioner (currently a Federal Marshal).

 

I'm trained in several forms of hand-to-hand combat as well as in the use of various firearms. I'm a Christen and a member of the Episcopal faith, as I left Catholicism since the Catholic Church excommunicated all animators. I also have a bachelor's degree in preternatural biology.

 

Being 5'3 inches tall which means almost everybody is taller then me. I tend to use this to get the better of men who always underestimate small females. Not sure if that trick works against Magik.

 

Which brings us to her.

 

 

**Magik - Demon**

 

Tallish, blond, very attractive, weredragon, demon and supposedly a hell lord.

 

We don't actually know much about her other then what she told me when we were sitting together watching my house burn. Still rather surprised she didn't kill all of us after what we did to her.

 

Claims that she was human at one time and was stolen to hell as a child where she was slowly transformed into what she is. She apparently died at one point, but was brought back years later missing her soul; which she is supposedly on a quest to regain.

 

She smells of smoke, pepper, and wolf; apparently this is what dragons smell like. And on the raw power scale she's the strongest I've ever personally encountered, not sure how she ranks against Mommy Dearest, and the whole dragon thing really freaks out the weres as weres are just prey animals to a dragon.

 

Main bit of advice I have is don't get in her way. A lesson she taught us all as she's very powerful. And run if you see her with a burning sword. Run as fast as you can.

 

 

**Part 5c: Discussions**

 

Security had been banished beyond hearing range, after bringing the refreshments, with instructions to not intrude on pain of death (unless one of us went and summoned them).

 

Richard stomped over to refreshment table and grabbed a sticky bun and some orange juice. Asher looked like he'd also recently feed. They both sat down, Richard by himself and Asher by Damian.

 

Magik had shut her book when they had come in. She stood up after everybody was seated and spoke. He power was restrained, barely felt and her scent of pepper, smoke, and wolf but lightly in the air.

 

_“I believe some of you may have insights of worth as to some... issues that are happening. Be known that if any of you divulge the personal information I’m going to share without my permission then I will get very upset”._

I've always admired Magik’s threats. She was either very specific as to the details, or would just issue a general warning that make you really motivated to not want to find out the specifics.

 

 _“Can we not… um… learn the details”?_ I asked. Let’s see if we can opt out.

 

“ _Sure”_ she replied. She actually looked relieved, like I’d just solved her problems. Then she spoke again as we felt her power start to bloom and fill the room.

 

_“That makes it easy. I’ll just slay all of you and that coven you used as I think that might fix most of the problems I'm having. At least I would cease getting any moral spillover from you due to your now dead condition. If that doesn't work then the lack of this itch of morality should then allow me to finish coming up with a more appropriate set of solutions to my remaining issues”._

_“Let’s go with hearing your details”_ I quickly said before she could do anything. Moral spillover from me? What the heck?

 

She gave me a look of mild annoyance and her growing power folded away.

Jean-Claude then spoke some very wise words. " _Please let us not be hasty_ _Ma petite. When elephants dance the mice get crushed. Let us hear her words and consult with each other before responding with any... conclusions"._

Yea... that was good advice. I think she was just yanking our chains but... yea... good advice.

 

**Part 5d: Badness**

_"I can't believe I'm actually talking about such things to you"_ was her opening statement.

 

I could kind of understand why we were not on her hit parade (that whole burning her alive and binding her thingie that we had done).

 

_"I have bad news, really bad news, potentially apocalyptic news, more bad news, and... well additional badness. I suppose I'll first briefly summarize, in no particular order as the level of badness is likely different for each of you. Then... shards... I think I need to share just who I actually am"._

She gave the first set of bad news.

 

_"Somebody is casting major enchantments that involve me in some way. The first of the enchantments apparently hides them from me which has so far resulted in my inability to locate them. I first thought it was you folks again and almost killed you reflectively but for that sudden whinny itch of morality from Anita. My second guess was the Council but I have determined that it is not them. I don't know what the enchantments pertain to but I suspect they may have some connection to my other issues"._

What? Itch from me? And enchantments?

_"Second bit of bad news is that I am apparently the Master of Cairo due to my inadvertently blood oathing the current master. Without my recurring presence they will all go insane or not awaken again. Very annoying as I avoided having pets just for that issue. And apparently the compulsion to be here is growing, I suspect the enchantments have something to do with that but I don't know"._

As I suspected from her prior statements.

_'Third, I apparently have some vampiric... tendencies now. Related I think to my Dragon form and how that came to be. I can feed off of crowds, taking some of their energy. I first noticed this at the dance clubs. But... that does not suffice long term. I get more... hungry. Protein helps, when I'm in Dragon form, as I like to hunt and a few deer are tasty. But... other prey... beckons. To date such prey has been rather self selecting. Hmmm, I've been told it is polite to ask you, Mr. Zeeman, for hunting rights to deer and wild hogs while I'm here as the werewolves are the biggest group here and have most of the informal hunting grounds"._

Great. Just great. I could see all the weres tense up as they were all prey animals to a dragon. She'd killed and eaten Harlequin for crying out loud! That... that was scary.

_"Fourth, the Vampire Council, a hereto great source of the self selecting prey, has decided that all of their issues with me can be resolved if I join the Council as I now meet the membership rules as it were. The... oaths would bind me from harming them, or them me, which nicely solves their issues and fills the empty seat"._

Shit.

_"Fifth, St. Lewis is the agreed upon common ground for the negotiations. They didn't want to come to Cairo and I didn't want to go to Paris. Belle suggested St. Lewis as a compromise location and I agreed. Padma thought it was an excellent idea and made sure to remind me of certain habits of certain people here. Rather in-depth reminders. They, or their representatives, are coming here in seven days. It was decided that I'd break the news to all of you. They are rather nasty people but I do like their idea of a joke. Accommodations will be required of you Jean-Claude, I believe they will contact you tomorrow as to the details. As for myself I will need housing for three... well for a vampire, a were and another demon apart from myself; hope you like cigar smoke. I will make my own independent sleeping arrangements"._

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Felt her grow darker as well while she looking at Asher, Jean-Claude, and me as she spoke. And here I was going to verbally knife Padma and he beat me to it. Need to remember that he's no dummy. Damn it, the entire Council will be here! Could so feel and see everybody tensing up and panicking.

 

And there was even more. Now she glared at me and I could feel the rage and... and something else that I couldn't name hiding behind that inferno.

 

_"Sixth, the bindings that you, Anita, caste upon me, while broken, mutated in the breaking. I suspect your coven didn't tell you what the core component of the binging spell they created is normally used for. The weaker simply cannot do such a binding upon the stronger without it being voluntary. Shards, I begged you not to, to let me go but no; just had to try and put me in my place. And it's really is your fault as you just had to use the sliver of leftover power from me when you tried bound me with my names. Well... that apparently rebounded back upon you but the link was so incredibly weak it was not noticed by me at first, but it was likely the reason I didn't kill you for what you did. And why you were just now fixated upon me and why I keep getting..."._

I felt Jean-Claude clutch me tightly as she looked away from me.

 

_"Anita you are in the process of becoming my familiar and I am so pissed about that as I find myself unable to stop it other then by killing you and I keep getting... having... issues with that every time I decide to kill you and yours. But the council does not know of that little issue so the choice of this locality for the negotiations is... not as fortuitous for them as they thought"._

Oh utterly massive... shit.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well folks have I set the stage well? One problem with writing such stories is trying to keep the characters in character. This is not the original chapter six I wrote but I was troubled by the direction the story was taking.
> 
> Then Lord Grise helped clarify the problems. Lord Grise noted that he thought Anita was being too passive, and so was everybody else. A very legit complaint that I address in this chapter. Which resulted in a very difficult chapter to write as I think this chapter sets the stage for the test of the story, so if I get his chapter wrong then the story will likely bomb and I'll abandon it.
> 
> Then as I wrote this chapter (and rewrote it several times I had to write the next few chapters as a whole as well due to… story complications). That is in part why feedback is critical in keeping the writer honest. So keep them coming!
> 
> Oh, and sometime even Illyana gets it wrong.
> 
> This story takes place after Blood Noir (Anita Blake time line). Which I tend to think of as the last of the really good Anita Blake stories.

**Part 6a: Time-out**

And that's when I shot her... well… I was going to shoot her but instead shot at her (meaning I shot to miss).

 

Right after the comment about me becoming her familiar and her thinking of killing me and mine. So tired of this bullshit attempt to intimidate us. Frankly she'd done a far better job the last time when she didn't talk so much. And she'd meant it back then, were as now she was bluffing. Shit I knew she was bluffing and I could sense most of my men knew it as well.

 

Jean-Claude sent me a thought. I suppose he could feel me tensing up to act.

 

( _Careful_ _Ma Petite. Yes she is bluffing but... don't turn the bluff into actual deeds. She is being rude but not actually dangerous... might you... reciprocate without blood?)_

 

I had gone cold and still as she had talked, gone to that quite still place that I go to when I kill but... he was right. Since she was acting out... let’s put her in a time-out.

 

Usually when I shoot somebody it's for a kill. Forget the TV shows and movies where folks shoot the gun out of somebody's hands or shoot them in the leg. So not realistic. I mean... if you have a gun and I'm within ten feet of you with a knife who wins? If you're not actually pointing the gun directly at me with your finger on the trigger then I'll be the winner every single time, and incidentally the survivor. Once I'm within your reach then it's all over except for the bleeding. Your bleeding.

 

Contrary to most understanding, knife beats gun most times if the range is ten feet or less.

 

But this time I fired one round right over her right shoulder, only a few inches from either her head or shoulder. Oh the look on her face as she started which caused her to stumble backwards, she ended up upending over her chair which was priceless.

 

So worth it. Here's a hint... I can be a vindictive bitch at times. Ok… most of the time.

 

This was one of those times.

Richard flung himself backwards when I shot. Jean-Claude had just braced himself as he had felt me tensing up. Damian and Nathaniel froze. Asher just looked sarcastic, and Micah had transformed his hands into claws and looked ready to spring.

 

Behind the chair we could hear her curse once in what sounded like Russian **_"Дерьмо"!_**

 

I still had my Browning extended, pointing to where she had to be behind that chair. We all waited with baited breath, well some of us did.

 

None of the guards made an appearance, they had to have heard the shot even if they were beyond hearing range for conversations. Good, they were obeying the instructions to not interfere; they were not pleased but understood that there was nothing they could prevent if her intent was to kill. They understood that things were likely to get… interesting and that their involvement would likely cause problems instead of solutions.

 

I spoke my mind, politely this time.

 

_" **Enough!** Sit down and talk like the adult you claim to be"._

Yea, I was being a bit bitchy, felt good. Felt real good.

 

 _"What gave her away to you"?_ Asher asked as he casually stood up. As he did this the top of her head appeared over the overturned chair and silently looked at us.

 

 _"Too many threats, and my cross didn't glow_ ". Plus that still injured nail of hers but no need to mention it with her present. I lowered my gun.

 

Yea... big bad demon threatening to kill us and my cross doesn't glow. Not even a teeny-tiny bit. Really big tell. And the fact that that the vampires and weres had been too casual, apart from Richard. They could scent moods better then me, but I could see it as well. There was more then just rage, there was...

 

Panic.

 

She was scared and was trying to establish control. Establish dominance. Hmm... I think she really needed to work on her people skills, they looked rusty. The (I'm a big badass who can kill you all) only works if folks think you'll do it. Once they don't...

 

Asher casually walked over to the overturned chair and looked down upon the still silent Magik. He spoke with a slight grin that showed a hint of fang. _"Would you like a hand up Ma jolie"?_

 

Wow, I've never actually heard a glare before but I would swear I could feel the glare she gave Asher. Asher just smiled a full on fang smile at her and waited. Then... her left arm came up from behind the chair and took his hand.

 

Asher helped her to her feet and as he did this I swear she looked... embarrassed for a moment.

 

She proceeded to right the chair and sat back down with a neutral expression and then spoke. _"I see you're... not buying it"._

 

 _"So she's constrained? Powerless"?_ Asked Richard.

 

A burst of hot power from within her. Vast but restrained. Like a bird in a cage that can't fully stretch out its wings. And an answer from her with that tone of voice you get from somebody who's pissed at being caught.

 

_"No, I'm.... I'm just... ethically and emotionally constrained regarding things Anita truly cares about. Don't... don't do that again. I might... well using too much power does tend to make me hungry"._

I aimed my gun again. She gave me an exasperated look as she replied. _"Not a threat, just an observation. A rather unpleasant self observation"._

Needed to remember that. After all we were are talking to somebody who is vampire council strong even if... she was... Crap just what truly was she?

 

Hmmm we needed more details. I holstered my pistol and got a refill on my cup of coffee and a muffin as well; I had a bit of the munchies myself all of a sudden. Must be all the excitement.

 

**Part 6b: Questions**

_"What exactly has happened to you"?_ Was my question as I poured another cup.

 

She answered while looking... frustrated. I suppose the lack of control was disconcerting to her _._

_"Like I said, enchantments, several in fact. The minuscule link that was between the two of us has been amplified by parties unknown. Although apparently amplified more on my side then on yours. Resulting in... well... I find myself in an annoying maze of moral decisions. And being rather… blind to such things I’m… actually concerned about making wrong choices. And rather surprised to find myself worried about that. Very… odd”._

Ok... an interesting answer. Micah asked a question in response as I came back over and sat down again by Jean-Claude. _“Why is being worried odd and what kind of moral decisions”?_

She looked at us with a contemplative look. Like she was trying to come up with an example. Then she spoke.

_“It’s like the color blue if I were colorblind, which I’m not. I remember what blue looked like, but if you pointed to something and said that it was blue I’d have to take your word for it, as I can't see it anymore, all just black, white, or shades of grey to stretch the analogy. What makes it hard is then you then point to something else and say it’s red. Looks the same to me as the thing you said was blue. Same for green, yellow… so on and so forth. I... remember such things, but I really can’t feel or understand them anymore except for… some specific instances and those instances… hurt"._

 

Jean-Claude followed up. _“So love and hate are the same for you”?_

 

_“No. I can feel hate. Hate, anger, rage, guilt, self loathing, disgust, those feelings are all too alive and well. Guess I can see red as it were”._

 

Yea, I could still feel the rage burning within her. All that tasty rage. My stomach gave the slightest of rumbles so I took a bite of my blueberry muffin.

 

She continued, heck in hindsight she over shared a bit. _“I can’t feel much else. My brother does inspire feelings but… they are not… well... they are mostly not good feelings. Shards, I so hate myself. Kitty might have allowed me a path out of this darkness but that is denied me. Rules, always more damn rules”._

_“Rules”?_ I asked. So wanted to know the rules that governed her. And who was Kitty?

 

_“Demons are not allowed to go back in time. Suffice it to say a friend of mine is gone and I am not allowed to determine what happened to her or if she is even alive as the freaking universe says **NO** to that! I didn’t take no for an answer and… and I… well… there were consequences for… suffice it to say I ended up even worse then I was before”._

 

Confusing tidbit of a story there. Ok, time for some answers. _"Just who are you"?_ Was my question.

 

Surprise surprise, she answered it.

**Part 6c: Magik (In her own words).**

She looked resigned, like she had to clean up her room or something.

 

_“As I said I keep having to return here…. And it’s growing ever stronger which is interfering with my… attempts to find my soul. To find where that bitch Witchfire is. I was… am… a demon sorceress. I… She… It’s very… difficult to fully explain. I came here in pursuit of information about… some deals that Khufu had made with her. I am many things, one of which is a mutant. My… mutation is the ability to travel the multiverse via the ability to summon teleportation disks from a place called Limbo. This allows to me access most but not all dimensions. Yours for example is very locked down”._

Nathaniel asked a question. _“Have you been to Wonderland”?_ Richard rolled his eyes in annoyance, Richard has mostly distain and great dislike for Nathaniel for a variety of reasons. Yet another example of why we were no longer together.

A somewhat silly question but Nathaniel had never read any of the childhood classics in childhood due to having to run away at age six from a murderous child abusing guardian who had just killed his brother and living on the streets. We don’ really know anything about that time in Nathaniel’s life and he so far has not shared. Micah and I were reading him such classics in bed, ok that sounds odder then it actually is. Rather a sweet time.

 

Then she replied and I realized that the rabbit hole might actually exist.

 

_“Once. Cheshire was an… enjoyable traveling companion. But the red queen was most irritating. Magic was very odd in that dimension”._

 

 _“How was Alice”?_ Was Nathaniel’s eager reply.

 

 _“Who’s Alice”?_ Was her response. Hmm, last time she was here she didn’t get the white rabbit comment I had made.

 

 _“Alice as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The children’s book by Lewis Carroll”._ Was Richard’s irritated statement.

 

 _“Never read it. My… childhood was… not… pleasant or normal”._ Hmm, guess Nathaniel and her had something in common then.

_“Ok, we’re off on a tangent here”._ Was my contribution to the discussion. _“Let’s stay on topic”._

_“Ummm…”_ Nathaniel said. You could just see he was dying to ask a follow up question.

_“Let our kitty cat ask his question”._ Suggested Jean-Claude. _“Assuming the answer is brief”._

 

Nobody protested, I guess the concept of Wonderland possibly being a real place had caught everybody’s interest. Nathaniel asked his question.

 

_“How did it end? I mean did you ended up in a trial over who stole the tarts”?_

Magik looked… slightly confused. I guess she really never did read the story.

 

_“No”._

 

Nathaniel had crestfallen expression as to her short answer. She slightly frowned and then gave a slightly more detail answer.

 

 _“The red queen loved the phrase off with their heads so I relieved her of hers after a rather violent… disagreement”._ Nathaniel looked pleased with the answer, but I could just tell that he so wanted to just talk about Wonderland.

 

 _“Do you work for the devil”?_ Asked Richard out of the blue.

 

 _“No. There are many and I work for none of them, heck I’m a hell lord in my own right”._ Was her clearly irritated reply. Guess she got that a lot.

 

Richard followed up. _“More then one devil? There’s more then one Lucifer”?_

 

She started ticking off names on her hand. _“There’s Hela of Hel, one L not two, Norse hell as it were. She can be a real bitch at times but she’s a smart one. There’s_ _Mephisto, also known as_ _Mephistopheles, he rules your more traditional hell. Then there’s_ _Dormmanu, a real bastard of a hell lord. Then… well no real need to keep going on. Oh, Lucifer gave up on the whole gig and currently plays piano in a bar that he owns in LA; guess he had a mid life crisis or something”._

Blank looks from all of us.

Magik then, thankfully, got back on topic. _“The enchantments that are being cast... they have altered me in this reality. As I said the first one cast apparently hides who or whom are doing it from me. I have found three enchantment sites to date; but there may be more”._

_“The first was in Moscow in a deserted warehouse. I only found it after the second enchantment alerted me due to the… changes in me. I think the second enchantment… amplified the vampiric behaviors, the desire and the actual need to feed. This is in part tied to what happened in Cairo when I first came here. I believe that the second enchantment actually took place in Cairo while I was not present in this dimension. The third enchantment opened up the link between Ms. Blake and I causing me emotional… difficulties. That ritual took place in Paris which was why I first thought the Council was involved at first”._

Interesting, I could so feel her rage and frustration over this.

 

She continued.

_“Think of it as somebody having access to the rule book. My entries are being… modified for reasons unknown. You know me as Magik, Childe, or Darkchilde…. My actual name, which no longer has power here due to that… oath Ms. Blake swore, is Illyana Nikolievna Rasputina, otherwise known as Illyana Rasputin. I..."._

And she got interrupted again. I always hate it when people start asking questions on slide one of a power point presentation where the answers to said questions are on the next few slides. I'm a Federal agent so I been to a bunch of presentations.

 

Asher interrupted this time. _"The Rasputin? As in Grigori Rasputin? The Russian monk"?_

She replied. _"Yes... although my timeline is different then yours. I am Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin's great great grand daughter"._

 

Well that was just dandy. Grigori Fing Rasputin.

 

I don't know what he was in her world but in ours. Well... Grigoria was born in the later part of the 19'th century. He was a born a peasant, a nobody and a nobody he remained; right up to the point when he started having visions. He then progressed into a kind of faith healer, general mystic, and... something else.

 

A really really powerful something else. At his height he wielded significant influence over the Russian Tsar and his wife due to his ability to heal their sickly son. He was not so much a monk as a kind of religious wanderer. And according to hearsay, a very debauched one when it came to alcohol and women.

 

He survived the communist revolution and became the holy man of the white Russians. It was rumored that he had the ability to sway a crowd with his powers. Not by anger or passion but by... by something. He said few words compared to say a Hitler's endless ranting and diatribes, but... but those words... Well…

 

This is only one film recording known of him. He was in a small room sitting and speaking so the camera could record him so the film could be shown to solders in the field and to cinema goers where the white Russian's still held sway.

 

I don't speak Russian but I'd seen the film once in my college years in the class on Mystics. It was... creepy. His eyes... something looked out of his eyes and... and you didn't want those eyes staring at you. There is no soundtrack on that surviving film as this was before speakies existed, as they were called back then.

 

It's a good thing. Even with just words being flashed on the screen you feel like... you need to obey because you... you want to. He’s considered one of the top mystics of the twentieth century.

 

He died in some massive Red vs. White Amy battle where... things happened. The Communists purged all written writings of what happened but... they said he raised demons on the final battle where he died. Apparently very few people survived that battle, and Russian folklore has it that some of the demons he raised are still in our world.

 

Even today the location of that battle is unknown as it is a Russian state secret. Afterwards the Communists killed all of his descendents and his relatives.

 

Asher then provided a new tidbit of information. _"The vampire council tried to have him killed. It was thought that he might... become or even be a Necromancer. They failed... all vampires... they couldn't stand to be near him. The Council was very happy that the Communists did it for them"._

_"As useful as that sidetrack was... please let her speak before dawn arrives"._ Was Damian’s comment. Yea, the clock was ticking.

 

She paused but there were no more questions so she continued.

 

" _Grigori, in my world, was not quite what he was in yours. He died before the revolution, killed by nobles. I was born on a State Farm in Siberia. Just a little peasant girl with two big brothers. One who went on to become a cosmonaut and one who became... well... you call them super heroes. My brother Peter, he could turn into living steel. Very strong. He ended up in a group in America called the X-Men who were a group of mutants who tried to do good"._

_"Like the Justice League"?_ Asked Nathaniel. And again we were off topic, sometimes it’s like herding cats.

 

 _"Yes... like the comic"._ Replied Magik... umm Illyana I guess now, with a slight frown.

_"They battled super villains, evil mutants, and aspects of the U.S. government who sent giant robots called Sentinels to contain and destroy mutants both good and bad"._

This was beginning to sound like a terminator film plot, but then I lived in a world of vampires, weres, magic, fairies, and other creatures so I kept my comments to myself.

 

_"I was kidnapped from my home and brought to America at the age of six as a hostage to... influence my brother. I was freed in the end and spent some time with him and his group. In that group was a young thirteen year old girl by the name of Kitty Pryde who I kind of thought of as a big sister. The school where they resided was destroyed and they ended up at this deserted floating lost Atlantan city that had been raised from the ocean. That was were I was... kidnapped again. But this time by Belasco. He was a demon sorcerer and ruler a hell dimension called Limbo"._

_"The X-men also ended up in Limbo and briefly freed me, but before we could return I was briefly torn from Kitty’s grasp as they were on one side of a magic portal and I was on the other. A few seconds passed in their time and then Kitty grasped me again and pulled me from the portal. I was now thirteen. I had spent seven years in hell"._

_"Seven years where I... I... I do not wish to speak of it other then to say at the end of it Limbo was mine, I had lost three fifth of my soul, and was now a demon sorceress"._

_"I returned from hell and... things were different. Difficult. Everybody was both concerned for me and scared of me as I would not speak of what happened. My brother was besides himself with guilt. Eventual some of what happened to me was learned. Only… Kitty truly accepted me. I… treasure that… there is nothing I would not…"._

_"To make a long and very private story very short. I died at the age of seventeen. I... had... my brother was dead, or so I though, and Kitty was badly hurt. I... didn't take it well. Made bad choices... kind of went insane. And... to fix what was happening, an invasion of earth by the demons of Limbo, I... killed myself by erasing myself from reality which sealed the breach between Limbo and Earth"._

She paused. Interesting summation.

_"And yet you live"._ Injected Jean-Claude.

_"That... is... somewhat open to debate"._ Was her reply. She continued.

_"Years later I was brought back by Belasco. Well... he was trying to bring her back, the me that died. He ended up with the me that is. The Darkchilde part of who remembers all that she was, but lacking a soul. Her soul. I was not the blond bed warmer that he desired the return of. I was trapped in the demon form she had been trapped in when she died. He was... displeased. Very displeased. He... expressed that displeasure by doing… doing… It was bad and I will say no more about that"._

She paused and gulped. Damn the rage was just pouring off her. Rage and fear. I could take a guess at what the bad things were and that likely explained part of her panic. Losing control for her is likely always associated with bad things happening to her, so what is happening now is likely causing all kinds of unpleasant memories and flashbacks. Rather the control freak myself over certain things.

 

She collected herself and continued.

_"I was broken, driven insane, and cast out into the wilds of Limbo. I somehow healed myself physically but I was not... well. I hid for a long time in a part of limbo where time ran very very fast. I... eventually recovered part of what I was. I then sought revenge. Meanwhile but a day and passed for Belasco. He was convinced that she yet lived and had pulled the school that the X-Men, and their students lived at, into Limbo. In the end Belasco was dead, Limbo was mine again, and... and I met my supposedly dead brother whom I had forgotten yet lived"._

Now her rage was scented with anguish.

_"I banished everybody from Limbo and... decided to... attempt to regain my soul. Many more... things happened before I made my way to your world in pursuit of knowledge about a certain person called Witchfire. The rest you... kind of know"._

_"I am Illyana Rasputin, the Darkchilde, Magik, Demon, Hell Lord, Mutant, and now a Dragon as well. And apparently ever more trapped in your world... That is why I'm..."_

 

**Part 6d: Invocation**

 

God the smell of her rage was intoxicating. The longer she spoke the more angry she had became and the allure of it was filling the room, so tempting me. It was like...

 

The tastiest cake ever baked just starting at me.

The smell of fresh blood to my beasts.

The sight of a trashing dove with a broken wing.

The limping of a fawn with a crippled leg.

A dish of the finest fresh cream, whisker licking good.

The scent of sweet sweet living flesh.

The smell of coffee... yummy yummy coffee. It was like the aroma of freshly roasted and ground beans combined with the taste as well.

 

I just had to... take a sip... just a little sip. What would be the harm?

 

Just... one... little… taste.

 

Heaven! It was delicious.

 

Oh so delicious. Even though it was but the smallest of sips. Fiery hot and spicy. It went down smooth but had a kick like a mule that set things aflame within me.

 

This now named Illyana had been looking at Jean-Claude when I'd stolen the sip, but her eyes had jerked to look at me with a suddenly alarmed expression.

 

And so did everybody else in the room as the _Ardeur_ erupted forth from myself and apparently Jean-Claude as I was touching him at the time. The _Ardeur_ covered the room with desire. It was as if it had liked the taste of her and wanted more... much more.

 

The last thing I saw was the her look of alarm suddenly morph into horror, then everything went white and I knew no more.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, the Ardeur makes an appearance. Why you may ask? Well… I always try to write true to the characters and (sigh…) sex is a critical component of Anita Blake fiction.
> 
> One thing I dislike about the Anita Blake universe is the author has fallen into a very predictable writing pattern in her last ten plus books or so.
> 
> 1) New baddie come to town  
> 2) Anita ends up feeding the Ardeur on somebody new and gains yet another lover  
> 3) Baddie always underestimates Anita and pays the price  
> 4) Baddie tends to toy with Anita rather then just taking her out  
> 5) The author has Anita spends ever more time thinking about her relationships  
> 6) Anita has sex over many chapters and she’s always the best sex ever  
> 7) Other women are always jealous of Anita and can’t understand why her men prefer her  
> 8) Some high ranking female were or vampire had some kind of hissy fit with Anita  
> 9) Anita has some blonde insecurity angst moments involving some blonde female  
> 10) Somebody calls her a slut or a monster  
> 11) Anita gains more/new powers  
> 12) Richard behaves like a dick  
> 13) Anita saves the day (yet again, not like there are any other people involved)

  
Warning… This is not a fun chapter for Illyana based on her history.  No real adult content ahead but… very much adult consequences.

 

 

**Part 7a: Dreams of Cairo**

 

_Anita dreams_

_…_

_…_

I port to the roof of the building that is above the concealed temple of the former Master of Cairo, and take a deep breath of the clean night air… which causes me to cough after breathing in the city's dirty air.

 

Ok, I breath the very smoggy night air, damn Cairo is way beyond just smoggy. The smell of old blood in the temple is really getting old, but leaving the sign of my slaughter when I first turned dragon serves as a warning to all who see it.

 

And as a remainder to me as well. This world... The rules that govern me are apparently mutable, subject to change, are being changed.

 

Damn it! I should have given up on getting my answers from Khufu after I slaughtered that vampire bastard and his entire **Fing** court over what they did and would have keep doing to me.

 

Well... no sense complaining about spilled blood now.

 

I cast the location enchantment and focus upon it... there... that direction... Alexandria... That's where they're hiding this time. Likely observing us with the concealed electronic devices they think I don't know about... Observing me.

 

I justify what I'm about to do... rationalize it. And briefly wonder about the sudden need to justify and rationalize it. So... odd to feel that way, even if it's only a faint stirring.

 

But that stirring scares me. I’m being changed, altered. And I have no control. Just like the times when… No. Not going think about those times. About… **THAT**.

 

I calm myself as I had started to hyperventilate in my sudden panic. Then I crouch down and leap up as dragon erupts from my form. I take to the air as I beat my wings.

 

There are intruders in my territory. Intruders that are also.... food. They were warned to stay away.

 

Things are more... clear now. Simpler. My beast I guess, that's what all the weres call it, is in the foreground of my thoughts. I wonder how much of that is dragon and how much is demon. It is a sign of my alteration that I no longer know.

 

I beat my wings and rapidly rise into the dark sky, and then bank North West as I fly in the direction of Alexandria.

 

Shards I'm so hungry. It gnaws upon me like a rat upon a bone. Always there... always... in my thoughts. I smile as I fly higher as I think upon what I will do to those who have done this to me once I find them. Not a twitch of moral confusion about that, just... anticipation. Well, Ani... Blake… Ms. Blake (must keep things in perspective!) is not a very nice person about such things as well.

 

I… like that in her. So… comprehending of how the world really works.

 

I again find flying to be fun. A grumble of a laugh as I wonder what Lockheed would think it all. Likely snort fire and try to eat everything in sight, that little glutton.

 

The memory of that little dragon throws me into mental darkness as I remember... remember a life that once was. What has been taken from me. What I so want back. I flex my talons as I snarl in grief and rage.

 

Dragons can fly fast... but I can travel even faster as I am so much more.

 

I pirouette in mid air as I draw in my wings and then snap into a dive. And as I dive I summon a teleportation disk.

 

With that I am diving down upon outskirts of Alexandria over some remote ruin of a temple. And I can see those whom I hunt. And smell them as well. Gods, dragons can scent so very well, this is what Logan must always be having to deal with; being able to smell everything.

 

Vampire, male. Werelion, female. They are next to a pickup truck with a shell on it. There are tables next to the truck with some laptops, likely examining the outputs of their listening devices. I idly wonder if they saw me take wing.

 

They look up as I roar out my rage and my hunger, and then run in different directions. Smart, two targets instead of one.

 

I dive down upon the werelion, the lesser of the two. She dives for a small hole in the ground, likely some opening to a cave system. No... no... can't have that. Can't have the mouse hiding in the wall. I breath a bit of fire and cover the area she's running towards with flames.

 

She stops and turns to confront me as I land behind her. I notice she's wearing a white mask, like that means anything to me. The whole color of the masks has been explained to me by Hans, the new Master of Cairo. I had explained back what the words (don't come here) mean. Apparently this world has many slow learners… well… about to be a few less.

 

I notice she's drawn a sword... good. I've found a fight makes the living meat taste better.

 

I snarl in rage. I'm not sure if it's the dragon or the demon that has such emotions over this. The dragon emotions are like a screaming voice inside my head, somehow I don’t think dragons were big on the whole sharing concept. Well… demons aren’t known for sharing as well.

 

The emotions are like screams in my mind.

 

**MINE! THIS IS MINE! MY TERRITORY!   NOBODY HARMS WHAT IS MINE! NOBODY TAKES WHAT IS MINE! TO COME HERE IS CHALLANGE! FIGHT! FIGHT FOR WHAT IS MINE!**

 

She's shouting something that I pay no attention to. I snap my head forward and she swings her sword. She dodges out of the way of my strike and the blade bounces off of my armored neck. As she dives down in a somersaulting run I use my left rear leg and claws. I partially miss her, which means she's still living as I only ripped her left arm off.

 

She stumbles to the ground as I turn about, then gets back up to run.

 

I suppose the dragon in my wants to play with the food some more... but I'm so hungry. My head darts forth again and I have her in my jaws. With a few crunches she's dead and I feed upon both her flesh and her power.

 

And part of my screams at what I'm doing... but I'm so hungry and I told them the consequences of coming to Egypt, if not that actual act itself.

 

My tongue flickers out and the missing limb is swallowed as well. I both feel and hear the vampire scream at the death of his animal to call. And yet he still lives. Ahh, I knew he was a strong one.

 

Good. The strong ones taste the best.

 

Shots ring off of my head as I look up. Ohhh, cheating, good for him. He's got a hand gun and he empties the magazine at me. Futile but entertaining.

 

He tries for the eyes, good choice. The heat of my vision softens the bullets and my eyes are harder then normal dragon eyes.

 

The bullets splash upon me and I blink away the fragments.

 

I suddenly tire of the game and I give forth a massive surge of flame. The truck is in the path of my burst and it goes up with a dramatic explosion; but the vampire is gone.

 

I gaze about the ruin. The red and orange lighting giving it a rather dramatic affect. Then I sniff.

 

There... he's over there. He dove down another hole. I assume they choose this area due to the solid rock and the tunnels.

 

I grumble in irritation and amble over to the hole with heavy footsteps. I step upon the burning truck as I go, caving in the roof a bit. I take a deep sniff. He's deep down. I contemplate breathing fire into the hole but decide to dig him out like a mole. My claws start to crush through the solid rock, like a bear digging out a muskrat or something.

 

In my eagerness I wrench one of my talons, hot blood falls and sizzles on the rock.

 

He's screaming something and I at last listen to the words...

 

Parlay.

He wishes to talk.

Screams that he wants to but talk.

Begs that he is here to only talk as I refuse to read any of the messages from the council.

 

I pause in my digging. Then I back away and lay down, not exactly sure why. I use my dragon chameleon abilities to shift my body coloration to match the background as I grumble forth my reply.

 

**_"GRANTED. I WILL LISTEN TO YOUR WORDS BLOOD DRINKER. BUT ONLY IF YOU COME FORTH FROM YOUR BURROW. I MAY... MAY LET YOU LIVE AFTERWARDS"._ **

 

He hesitantly comes forth.

He speaks.

I listen.

 

Shards...

 

It's even worse then I had feared. This world has altered me so much.

 

The council wants me as one of their own.

…

…

 

 

**Part 7b: Awakenings**

 

And with that I wake up from the dream.

 

Somebody heavy was on top of me squishing me and I was... achy. Achy in that achy way from really prolonged... **Oh Shit!**

 

My eyes snapped open. A very naked Richard, smeared with dried blood from what little I could see, was passed out on top of me. A quick glance down showed that I was equally naked and likewise smeared. A glance to my left gives me a very big eye full of Micah's groin.

 

My _"Get off of me Richard"_ grunt was greeted with a snore instead of any compliance.

 

I gave a shove and our bodies partially separated with a sticky sting as we were somewhat glued together with... well... dried male bodily fluids makes great skin on skin glue to put it politely. I like to say good sex is messy and apparently there was quite the mess. As I pushed the slumbering Richard off of me I saw Magik off to the right. She was sitting with her back up against a smashed couch while clutching a pillow to her...

 

Shit... naked body. She was looking right at me.

 

I froze but my eyes quickly took in the scene. It looked like a bomb had gone off in the room. All the furniture that I could see was smashed. The TV looked like it had been somehow chopped in two, and all the blue drapes had been pulled down. I could see a passed out naked Nathaniel clutching an equally passed out naked Asher off to my right; both also smeared with dried blood. Neither Jean-Claude or Damian were in my field of view.

 

I had frozen for two reasons. One because next to... well Illyana I guess... was my gun, all of my knives and what looked like two freshly whittled stakes, just right for a good vampire staking, and a third only half done. I could see fresh wood chips at her feet. Her expression was... was... was of one deeply in shock I think.

 

But the real reason was what she looked like. The blood on Richard was dried whereas she still looked wet in places and... and... there was a lot of it on her body and her hair. From this angle I could see what looked like two vampires bites on her neck, one really bad bite on the other side of her neck that looked like somebody had tried to take a chunk or had bit really hard; all three wounds were still bleeding. I could see at least one vampire bit on her lower arm and I suspected there were bites on her wrists as well.  She looked… looked kind of lost I think.

 

Crap... it was plain what had likely happened, but I couldn't recollect a thing.

 

She then spoke with a quiet tone of voice that just screamed shock and detachment. _"It's well past dawn... eleven am or so. I... I think... I think… I’ll be calling in sick today"._

 

Well, we're still all alive so she's not in a blind rage. Wonder if she's... God I hope she's not... bounded to me like I did to Nicky. When I made him my bride.

 

 _"Are you... ummmm..."_ I started to say.

 

A slight glare from her. Ok, not a bride then. Brides can't even think of a hostile thought at their master.

 

 _"No... I am... I'm not ok"._ Was her reply. _"The others are still out and your guards apparently had the intelligence to not intrude upon…"._

 

And then a sigh from her as the glare faded away, like it was too much effort. _"And I'm not... hungry anymore so... guess you all get to live for... the moment I think. I... I'm not sure about... about… things…"._

_"Hungry"?_ Was my reply. I mean it was obvious that the _Ardeur_ had feasted, but her statement meant that...

 

_"You all fed... and so did I"._

**Shit!** Where was Jean-Claude and Damian was my panicky thought. She replied to my unspoken question as I guess she understood my expression.

_"No need to panic Ms... ummm... Anita. I did not eat anybody, at least not in the sense you're thinking of”._ That caused a giggle from her and not the good kind, it was the crazy kind of giggle people tend to make just before they start having a breakdown. “ _Just as you all fed upon me I... fed upon everybody"._

I finished rolling Richard off of me and froze again as my Browning was now in her right hand, already cocked, pointed at my chest, and her finger on the trigger. Damn, I never even saw her move.

 

Most novice gun users tend to point the gun either at your head or only in the direction of the actual target. Center of mass, that's where you should aim as it is the biggest target, harder to miss, and frankly heads can jerk out of the way much better then the torso.

 

She was aiming right at my center of mass.

 

I spoke carefully _"What happened"?_

_"You do not remember"?_ So did not like her empty tone of voice.

 

_"No... I... It's as if I've been mind rolled"._

 

 _"Well goody for you"._ She replied with a slight laugh that again was not a funny ha ha laugh. I've laughed that way a few times myself before, usually just before I start screaming about something and having a complete meltdown. I could tell she was right on the edge.

 

I slowly glanced around the room now that I had a more elevated position. I noticed Jean-Claude was behind a smashed chair and Damian was on the other side of the smashed couch that Illyana was sitting against as I could see his feet. Both were also smeared with dried blood, well the parts that I could see. And they were naked as well.

 

Odd, I couldn't sense any rage from her anymore. In fact I couldn't sense anything at all, not even the screams that were always around her, which either meant she was shielding like mad or... she was in very deep shock or... or something else. I'd bet it was shock.

 

I asked a question. _"Did we... you... um... the guys..."?_

 

 _"If you don't remember then I'm not... not..."._ Her finger tightened on the trigger _. "In the mood to share right now"._

I was busy trying to figure out how to get out of the way of the round, which is kind of hard as Richard's body was still lying upon one of my legs. God, I really wished she put down the gun.

 

Then she looked down at the gun in her hand like she was surprised to find it there. She pointed the gun up and clicked the safety on thereby releasing the hammer with a very loud click in the quiet room. Again very proper gun safety. Never point a gun at something you don't plan on killing. Rather happy but confused at her behavior. Then she surprised me.

 

She put the gun on the floor and kind of kicked the gun with her foot resulting in it sliding over towards me while speaking. _"Here, likely will make you feel safer. I don't think... I'm not... not thinking well right now. Not... a good idea for me to... Ummm. Just not... I should go... go..."._

She tried to stand up, still clutching the pillow to her breasts and belly with her left hand. That's when I saw at least three more bites vampire on her thighs, one was still dripping. But instead of rising she gave a gasp of pain and her left hand went to her lower belly as she sat back down which resulted in the pillow falling to the floor as she sat back down.

 

I knew that sound as I've made it myself. Some of my men are very... large, and many women don't like their cervix getting poked or punched as it were during sex. I on the other hand... um... enjoy it most of the time. But this can leave you very sore afterwards.

 

I observed what looked like more vampire bites, none of which were bleeding. At least two on her breasts and several on her arms. But I also saw three more chewed bite marks, one on each breast and one on her belly and they were still bleeding. Again looked like somebody had tried to take a bite of flesh.

 

I slowly reached out and pushed the gun down by my lower right leg to get it out of the way but leaving it within reach. I maintained eye contact as I asked a very important question about me and mine. _"Are we safe"?_

 

She looked down upon herself as she replied in a quiet voice. _"No... I don't think... I... I'm... not... I don't know anymore"._

_"Did... I bind you"?_ There... I said it. Major fear as I so did not want a demon to take care of.

 

She looked back up at me with an empty gaze as she replied. _"No... just the... reverse I think... But... not ... really... sure. Might be... a bit of both. I... I'm not very motivated at the moment to explore the linkages"._

_"Linkages"?_ So did not like the sound of that.

_"Yea... plural"._ Was her obscure answer as Richard suddenly gave forth a groan. My eyes had only flickered to Richard when he groaned but as I glanced back I saw that one of my knives was now in her right hand and she had a look of panic.

 

Shards she's fast. At least with a knife there was a better chance of… Before I could finish the thought the blade of knife went from cold to a dull red hot glow. The blade was also now flaming as well, and the flames engulfed the hilt and her hand; which did not appear to bother her at all.

 

Crap. Vampires do very badly with flames and weres heal very slowly from burns.

I made some soothing words in a calm voice. _"It's ok... Illyana... He's just waking up. Nobody's going to hurt you"._

I heard Micah now give a groan as well and make some small sounds as he sifted his body.

 

I spoke. _"Micah"?_

 

 _"Yea.."_ he whispered groggily.

_"Don't make any sudden moves. Please sit up slowly"._

Richard was apparently awake enough to also speak. _"Why are we naked"?_

_"The_ _Ardeur ... it rose"_ was my answer.

 

Micah slowly sat up behind me. I felt him go still once he saw Illyana. She still had the knife but her hand was now shaking. I made very sure to keep my hands where she could see them.

 

 _"It's ok Illyana... you can put the knife down_ ". Great... Now I'm trying to calm down a possible hysterical and in shock demon. That's one for the record book. Damn I wish she'd put the knife down as well as I don't mean her any harm right now.

She had wild eyes but she then... complied. The flames went out and the blade started to cool and make that tinking sound metal makes as it cools. Then she again kicked the knives away from her and over close by me. Umm.... nice that she did that but... ummmm... why?

More groans about the room. In fact too many groans. It was past dawn and both Jean-Claude and Asher should have been down for the count as only Damian was a day walker.

 

Damian was the next to speak _"Is it safe to move"?_

I could see her suddenly beginning to lose it as he was behind her and out of eye sight. She had either not known that or forgotten. Her hands started to clench and it felt like a cold furnace suddenly ignited within her as her power flamed into existence. But before she did anything I yelled. _"Freeze Damian. Do Not Move"!_

 

Thank god he complied. I spoke to Illyana again. " _Damian is behind the couch that you're leaning against. He'd going to slowly, very slowly crawl away from you and come towards where my voice is while staying as far away from you as he can"._

No need to spook her as she was apparently very jumpy.

Micah spoke softly. _"Does anybody remember what happened"?_

Richard grunted a no and slowly sat up facing me. He then looked around and froze when he saw Illyana.

 

Jean-Claude replied from where he lay. " _No Ma Petite. The passion came and all went white"._

_"Nothing at all"_ was Damian answer as he started to slowly crawl while making as much noise as possible.

Both Asher and Nathaniel also said no as they slowly sat up. I likewise answered no.

 

Illyana spoke one word in response. She spoke it very quietly.

 

" _Yes"._

 

And then she started to quietly cry.

 

The big bad demon, the one who had kicked all of our collective asses at one time, started to cry which made no sense at all.

 

I mean... yea I hate it when somebody has used the _Ardeur_ against either me or us to force us to have sex but this was Magik. Hell she'd killed off the Master of Cairo and his entire court back when they'd...

 

Shit. Back when they'd raped her with Fang and Claw. She'd freed herself and slaughtered all of them. We'd seen the memories of that from the new Master of Cairo. She had not been crying then and she'd been hurt much worse.

 

I surveyed the ruin of the room and the state of Illyana and I had a possible glimmer of understanding based upon my one prior conversation with her while my house burned.

 

I had a gut feeling that there was a good chance that she’d never had consensual sex before... and the _Ardeur_ is not... ummm... When it has been used against me by my enemies it was so not...

 

Consensual.

 

Shit... I think… we... I think we kind of... gang raped her.

 

How... How the hell was that even possible?

 

 

**Part 7c: Picking up the pieces**

For some reason I then slowly crawled over to her. She watched me all the while as she continued to cry. I didn't think having any of the men get close to her would be a good idea right now.

I didn't say it would be ok. I didn't say it would be all right. I've been where she is and I think I knew just how she felt.

 

The _Ardeur_ can be quite the curse. But I've only seen it like this when it was used against us. The Mother Of All Darkness had done it me once when I was on a trip. She had used it to force my friend Jason, and two complete strangers who happened to be weretigers, to screw our brains out for a day and a half as she was trying to have me get pregnant. I was mind rolled as well and barely remembered any of the details afterwards.

 

I had some issues after that sexual marathon, both physically and mentally. And the only comfort I had then was some over testosteroned males having pissing contests over me like I was some kind of door prize to be fought over. So yea… big zip on the comfort.

 

The genders tend to differ on _Ardeur ._ Men tend to shake the actions off better. Woman tend to be less... blasé about it.

 

Yea, I suppose it had been fun, not that I remember much of it. _Ardeur_ always makes it fun, like hours of foreplay compressed into seconds; and the orgasms are amazing.But... involuntary sex is rape regardless of any pleasure. Others had done it to me and mine by forcing the _Ardeur_ to rise.

 

The brutal honest truth is what had happened here was a type of rape, regardless of the _Ardeur._

I reached her and gave her a hesitant hug and she suddenly clutched at me like I was a life preserver. She started to cry harder and began to chant as she trembled. _"Kitty... I want Kitty. I want Kitty! I Want KITTY! **I WANT KITTY..."!**_

She totally lost it in crying hysterics for her missing friend Kitty. Which was again odd... I mean... demon right?

 

Why did I hug her? I... I don't know. I suppose I... I wished when that had happened to me that there had been somebody female that I could have a breakdown with. Glad I could at least do something.

 

And then it hit me.

 

Glad?

 

I'd shot at her but a few hours ago and would have cheerfully put her down if I thought I could actually do it. Now I'm comforting her? She'd mentioned linkages...

 

Damn... I think I know of at least one of them now. Normally that brings out my anger, heck to be honest almost anything can bring out anger in me but... a naked sobbing crying young woman having hysterics apparently doesn't.

 

Wait... young woman? Ok... really needed to think this out. Then I got a mental thought from Jean-Claude.

 

( _Ma Petite, I shall take the men away so we may clean ourselves. I would ask why we yet live but... We must talk once you are done)._

 

I heard voices behind us as the guys got to their feet and shuffled out of the room leaving us alone.

 

 _"Did a demon just rape us?"_ whispered Nathaniel. _"I can't remember a thing"._

 

Richard was the only one to reply, but then he was always the most moral one. Funny, he's usually slower on the uptake.

 

_"No... I think we just… kind of raped a demon"._

 

Again, how the hell was that even possible?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A guest reviewer (thanks as I LOVE feedback!) was a little shocked that I went down this direction instead of skirting it. Well, I was rather shocked as well, but… sexual magic in Anita Blake stories is a key component of the books and… I do try to write in character. Plus I was left wondering just what the heck this story would actually be about (yes even I don’t know as I tend to write free flow on large stories and I write out of order as well as I get ideas).
> 
> I try to explore Illyana’s character in most of my writings and a repeat of my first Illyana/Anita crossover (Scary things) would be a waste of time.
> 
> Lord Grise has significantly helped me on these few chapters (first time I ever have used a beta reader) and has contributed some really good ideas as well so major shout out to him and credit as a contributor for this story.

Anita tries to be a good person who does bad things and has more then a few issues. Illyana at this point in her existence is fundamentally mostly a bad person who is trying to recover what she once was; but it’s not easy. She is a demon who wishes to not be one, but her nature means she has blind spots that are huge and she can’t see them. The lack of a soul makes moral decisions very very difficult for her and very confusing (as I’ve explored in some of my other works).

 

But now… she has been partially transformed into… something. Now she can see some of the blind spots but… the nature of such transformations means she might not fully realize she can see things that she was blind to before. And… just what will she do?

 

Illyana really has issues with dealing with most people as they tend to interpret whatever she does incorrectly, in part because Illyana hides her lack of social skills, in part because that whole part demon thing she had as Illyana 1.0 and now being a complete demon in Illyana 2.0. FYI, I use 1.0 to be pre-death and 2.0 to mean her re-embodiment. Also Illyana tends to never explain herself or justify herself in part due to deep insecurities and shame, hmmm just like Anita in some regards.

 

Illyana, just as Anita, tends to be a person of extremes, which is why it is fun to write such a crossover. Plus Illyana is a natural blond so that just makes her a physical embodiment of some of Anita’s personal demons (ha ha).

 

So… now I have a story that explores more of Illyana’s character in a way that is new (yea!). And I really do want feedback is this is a very difficult story to write as I need to stay true to the characters involved.

 

But… yea… sex. Wonder how Illyana’s going to handle that…

 

 

**Part 8a: Cleanup**

She cried for about fifteen minutes while screaming for her friend Kitty.

 

Finally she calmed down, stopped crying out for her friend and just sobbed for a while. Eventually she stopped clutching me so hard and stopped sobbing, then she spoke.

 

_"I... I need a shower and... space to heal myself. I... I hurt"._

Rather identical response to my own desires when I have been in similar situations. But… as she’d cried I was beginning to wonder even more about this sudden empathy I had for her. Yea rape victim and all that but... she's the big bad... so why... why did things feel... different?

_"Can you walk"?_

_"I... think so"._

I helped her to her feet which reminded me that we were still both naked and very besmeared, her even more so then me. As we got to the doorway I found Claudia, one of the female wererat guards standing with her back to the door holding two black silk robes.

 

**Claudia - Female wererat**

 

One of my bodyguards. She stands at around 6'6. More muscular than most men, and has a take-no-guff attitude. Very beautiful kind of woman who needs no makeup. Rather dislikes some of the men in my life. Very skilled in both hand to hand combat and the use of firearms. Good with a knife, not with a sword. You so don’t want to piss off this woman.

_"It was thought that you would need these"_ was her comment. _"The showers are empty"._

Claudia then walked before us as I helped Illyana walk by providing a shoulder for her to lean on. Shards, she left drops of blood on every step she took, it was like she couldn't stop bleeding.

 

Illyana's robe was wet with blood by the time we walked all the way to the showers. Claudia and I kept offering to carry her but she kept refusing and I noticed her voice was gaining in strength and was now steady. Not sure if that was a good thing or bad.

 

She also kept refusing the offer of medical aid... that it wouldn't matter in a few minutes was her response. We met nobody as we walked which I suppose was a good thing.

 

 _"You cannot shower so injured"._ Was Claudia's comment as we entered the locker room.

_"Yes I can"_ was her firm reply. _"Please... leave me alone for now"._

With that she hobbled into one of the extra large private shower stalls and closed the glass door. There are the main gym group showers, mixed gender as weres don't have much of an issue with nudity, but there are some large stalls for situations were privacy is desired or needed.

 

She didn’t bother to take off the robe as she turned on the water and steam quickly filled the stall obscuring her. She gave a muffled hiss of pain as the water hit her wounds and we could see the water now had red streaks in it before the steam and water droplets hid everything. I left Claudia standing guard in case Illyana collapsed and quickly took my own shower using the group facilities.

 

I turned on the water and it cascaded down upon the top of my head as I got some body wash from the dispenser and started to lather up. I really wanted a bath but there wasn’t time. As I cleaned off the blood and other dried liquids I felt Jean-Claude make mental contact with me.

 

_(Ma Petite)._

_(Yes)?_ Was my mental reply.

 

_(The others are most distressed. They… Well Asher, Damian , Micah, and I have done foul deeds but Richard and Nathaniel have never thought of themselves as capable of... what has been done)._

I replied. _(We had no choice. The_ _Ardeur rose. Why did it do that Jean-Claude)?_

_(You tasted her rage. Which I must say was… unwise. That… triggered something. Why I do not know)._

_(Yea… no shit. Why… why did I do that? It was like… a compulsion. Like I just had to take a taste)._

_(Ma Petite, how do you feel)?_

I thought upon the question as I rinsed.

_(Full I think… Really full. Like… like the time when I fed upon all the wereswans, when I fed upon their king so as to help heal you and Richard, but instead of the energy going to help raise the vampires for the day and to heal you two its just kind of… there._

_(An appropriate comparison I think. The others are… satiated, were and vampire alike. Asher and I walk while the sun shines. And… she said she fed upon everybody)._

_(Yea?)_

_(She did. Richard is king of the local werewolves and Micah is likewise the ruler of the wereleopards and I am the Master of the City._ _Ma Petite_ _, all who are ours, were and vampire alike, have been fed upon. She fed upon all that we rule. Only the wererats and the werehyena guards are currently functional as we have no mythical bounds to them. And… all the vampires that are mine are awake and yet the sun shines)._

 

_(Shit)._

_(Yes, shit indeed Ma Petite. Your American vulgarity is somehow so very appropriate)._

I lathered up again.

 

( _Ma Petite. Did you… dream)?_

_(Yes. It… I think it was a memory of hers. Of her turning dragon and attacking the Harlequin in her territory. Dragons are apparently very territorial. I take it the others dreamed this)?_

_(We all dreamed, but different dreams. Asher was involved in… a pillow fight involving some other young woman and a small purple dragon of all things, then they went and got ice cream. This Kitty it is supposed. Asher thought she looked maybe fifteen. He found it to be appallingly sweet and innocent. Kitty won by the way after apparently cheating with a tickle fest)._

_(And the others)?_

Jean-Claude gave a brief rundown.

_(Micah hunted in the woods with some native America girl by the name of Dani. They used arrow, spear, and rocks of all things. Beware if she throws rocks as she apparently has very good aim)._

_(I was leading some kind of attack that involved a rather large number of demons at my beck and call; and waving a disturbingly large battle axe about. She apparently thought that a rebelling demon was keeping the location of her soul from her. She was very… forceful)._

_(Richard was being read a bedtime story from a very large Russian sounding young man, the story involving a Ms. Piggy of all things; oh and again the young woman known as Kitty was there but maybe thirteen or fourteen? Our… guest appeared to be six years of age)._

_(Damian huddled in terror, naked I must add, in some cave somewhere and just stared at a cave wall covered in scratches. Terrified of everything. Her mind was… gone he thinks. Just a beast remained, a very filthy and skinny malnourished beast. She was clutching some doll made of twigs and straw and just rocking back and forth like… a child hurt beyond the ability to recover)._

_(Nathaniel endured a great deal of verbal abuse from some red headed young woman by the name of Rahne. Apparently Rahne thought this Illyana was evil, a demon, not be trusted by good people, and should just go away. Which was apparently greatly frustrating to this Illyana as she had just saved the life of Rahne. She felt very annoyed that yet again regardless of her actions she was judged harshly)._

Hmm, interesting. Even more interesting if true.

 

_(Ma Petite, what do you think… of her? What are your feelings)?_

 

_(Some anger, some concern for her which really bothers me, a great deal of concern for us, and confusion as to what the heck just happened)._

_(Nothing else)?_

_(No… are the others expressing something else)?_

_(We… are apparently all mostly still as we were, but Ma Petite I do not understand how we yet live and… all also have some… concern for her)._

_(Just concern)?_

_(Just concern… as of now but… we must be careful Ma Petite. Not all changes may be discernable at first. For her and us. Richard is also very angry over both him being fed upon and the wolves as well)._

Yea, Richard being angry; what a surprise.

Jean-Claude continued. _(Ahhh, forgive me, your senses are less, I forget at times. The woman who entered that room is not quite same women we woke up with. She apparently now smells of Pack to Richard, Micah and Nathaniel. Not pack ruler, just Pack member, both Leopard and Wolf. Asher, Damian, and I sense her to be… well she feels… humanish now)._

_(I’sh)?_

_(I’sh. She feels of other things as well. Have you noticed any changes)?_

_(The screams are gone. The female screams that only I apparently could hear are gone. The screams that are apparently hers but she can’t hear. Plus… well I guess she feels… rather human to me as well)._

_(An interesting night Ma Petite, I pray we never have another like it)._

 

I rinsed again, then exited the shower and started toweling off. Illyana’s shower was still going. Then Illyana's shower was suddenly filled with blazing fire instead of steam. The flames bellowed out the top of the shower stall. The heat drove Claudia back while we both madly rambled to find a fire extinguisher, but the flames vanished before I reached the nearest one (we have a bunch of extinguishers and first aid kits everywhere).

 

The now blacked shower door opened and a healed naked Illyana, at least physically, stepped forth. She looked calm, but her eyes were still... I could tell she was somewhat in shock, as she spoke.

 

 _"I think it best we all discuss what happened while... while I'm still... somewhat... detached about... **it** "_ was her dead tone comment.

 

Yea... might be a good idea... or not. Wasn't really sure there were any good choices before us at this point.

**Part 8b: Discussions**

We were in a different room, called the green room if you want to know, and yea it had green silk drapes on the walls. There was a round table and we were all sitting at it. On one side was Illyana, by herself, and the rest of us were on the other side in a tight group.

 

For reasons I completely understood Illyana was seating where she could see everybody, and nobody was behind her, and she was facing the only door into the room. She was dressed in her spandex costume again, she'd magic'd a new one into existence; very handy trick, know more then a few women who would kill for that ability.

 

The room was silent as we all just sat there. Illyana was looking everybody in the eye instead of being downcast so... good for her mentally I guess. But, nobody knew where we all stood anymore. What had happened? What… what had been done to us?

 

She finally opened her mouth to speak but Nathaniel of all people interrupted her.

 

 _"Who... bit you"?_ He asked. Not sure why... I think it was because he came from such an abused past. Nathaniel was so not a rapist.

 

 _"You all did"._ Was her toneless response as her eyes narrowed in what I assume was remembrances.

 

 _"All of us"?_ Replied Richard with what looked like insincerely very little surprise. I think he had started remembering some details.

 

_"All of you"._

And then Richard really said the wrong thing. But I understood what he was trying to ask. None of my men were into true rape as it were, if they were then they would not be sharing a bed with me. Group sex… yea… Rough sex… yea... S&M… yea... Dominance and submission… yea. But not rape.

 

_"Was it...voluntary"?_

 

 ** _''NO"!_ ** She shouted as she clenched her eyes shut, grimaced, and made fists with her hands. And that’s when the table caught fire like somebody had spread lighter fluid upon it and tossed a lit match.

 

We all hurriedly pushed ourselves away from the now burning table while she proceeded to pound her fists on it a few times.

 

She opened her eyes and appeared surprised to be sitting next to a burning table. It was not lost on us that the flames did not appear to cause her any harm. Her next statement did surprise us, she… apologized.

 

_"Sorry... not... not happy right now"._

 

She waved her left hand in some complicated gesture and the flames vanished leaving a very scorched table top.

 

Jean-Claude, ever the diplomat, replied as he sat back down _. "Please excuse Richard's question... But… it is one that is upon us all. We... do not recall what happened and did not act of our own will. I would offer apologies for our actions but... one does not say trite words after such deeds"._

She bowed her head and stared at the table and surprised us again. _"Please stop thinking you… raped me. Your… self guilt is driving me nuts, very strong on the links. You did not… rape me. I did not rape… you. We… we had sex… lots and lots and lots of really… great sex and I… did it with all of you… repeatedly"._

She sighed like that was some massive burden that she had just shed. _“What did result was a binding. A binding upon us all”._

 

I then confessed my guilt because… well… it was kind of my fault. _"If I had not taken a sip of your power then..."._

 

She interrupted me while still not raising her head. _"It's not your fault Anita because you had no choice in that"._

 

Blank looks between all of us while she stared at the table.

 

 _"What do you mean by that"_ demanded Richard.

 

She answered and everybody went still. _"I've been setup... you've been setup. I see that now. I puzzled out enough of what had happened while I sat there after... after we were finally done and you had all passed out. Sat and… failed in my attempts to remove the linkages. My enemies, those who are casting the enchantments upon me... are now your enemies as well"._

 

She looked up and she had an angry snarling expression. _"You were meant to die Anita. Whatever is being done to me, you were meant to die back there. Whoever they are, they tried to kill you. And with her death the rest of your would have likely died as well, thought I suspect Jean-Clau… the vampi… shards Jean-Claude would have survived, and Asher of course as he is not part of your networks of power. There… must be a new enchantment site that has not yet tracked down, one that was directed at the link between us. I think… the last enchantment was aimed mostly at you Anita. You were primed to do what you did without your knowing. I'd bet that something about me had become irresistible"._

Damn it! That so made sense.

I replied. _"Your rage... it was... I couldn't resist. I just had to take a bite"._

 

She continued. _"And that was apparently the trigger for the_ _Ardeur to rise uncontrollably. I should not… it should not have been able to affect me. The lesser cannot do such to the greater. If you had been by yourself then... you would have been consumed and I assume your power used to... bind or... transform me in some way that furthers the plots of those who are doing this. And most or all of those bound to you would either be dead, severely harmed, or greatly reduced in power as all those magical links would have come undone”._

_"But we were all there"._ Stated Asher with a tone of cold fury. A tone that matched the vibe from everybody.

 

_"Yes... the core of Anita’s power. Her... relationships. Instead of dying, the feeding was distributed amongst you all. A feeding that went in both directions. I upon you… you upon me and… I upon all that you have"._

_"So we didn't rape you"?_ I slowly stated. Really wanted that out there.

 

_"No... those who... cast the enchantments did. They raped me. You were just the incidental participants. They raped all of… us. However, whatever the enchantment was endeavoring to do has likely gone off the rails. Way off the rails. I have likely not been altered into whatever was their intent, all of you yet live, and… there have been changes"._

Hmm, still the screams that only I could hear were silent. I began to get a glimmer of understanding as to what had happened to her.

 

Jean-Claude had obviously already figured part of it out _. "Nobody else had any vampire bites, just you. Are we... yours? Have we been blood oathed? Or are you enslaved to us"?_

She had a scowl and a feeling of constrained rage. _"I don't know... don't really want to find out but... I think it's more... two way. I've been... overlaid is the magical term for it. I… I suspect my aura now has a mix from all of you. The intent was apparently that I consume Anita, instead I now have a connection to each of you. Very strong connections. I... I'm not sure as to the details as I need to... explore what has been done to me... I'm... I think I'm partially human again but not as I once was. Which is the true rape for me. That which I desired to become is no longer possible. And now I find myself…"._ She fell silent, bowed her head again, and did not continue.

_"Does that mean we're now part demon"?_ asked Nathaniel. Which I suppose was a good question.

 

Asher injected _"I don't believe so. If so then Anita's cross would be rather hotly right now. Likely... we will find out over... time what this entails. But... why are Jean-Claude, I and all of the vampires awake"?_

_"Demon blood"._ Was Damian comment. _"Which we all apparently partook of"._

_"Greatly partook of"._ Was Illyana's dry comment.

 

Micah pointed out. _“But that does not explain the other vampires”._

_“The linkages do”._ Stated Jean-Claude with a tired sigh. _“Power. A new network has been crafted, something that is supposedly not possible as I have never heard of a binding of power that had more then three participants. But one supposes that a demon in the center of the mix alters what is possible. That… feeding by her, upon all that is mine, and likely the wolves as there are many wolves here, also brought power to all that is mine”._

 

 _“So… you’re not going to kill us”?_ Asked Richard.

 

She raised her head and gave us an odd look. Started to say something but paused. Then she grimaced and closed her eyes. She spoke with her eyes closed like she didn’t want to see us.

 

_“You… you would not be the… I’ve… I’ve killed those I’ve… loved before”._

 

Richard looked somewhat shocked, Jean-Claude and Asher looked resigned. Micah and Damian looked neutral while Nathaniel looked uneasy. Don’t know how I looked but I wasn’t really surprised. I wanted to go for my gun but my cross (yea I was wearing another cross, I have a bunch of them, the original was still in that room somewhere) was not glowing at all.

 

She continued in a tone of rage and despair. _“I love you. I hate you. I hate that I love you… so no… no killing for now. I… already tried that. It… hurt too much”._ Then a half heard mumble. _“Great… in love with people who burnt me alive… just great”._

She opened her eyes. _“And it’s all fake… but oh so real for me despite its manifest falsehood. I’m... swamped by your emotional views of the world. Of each other. Some of you love all of you, some of you hate most of you. Some of you both love and hate a person at the same time. And… I get to feel it, be… influenced by it. And it’s all a lie for me. These are not my feeling”!_

She bowed her head again. _“And it makes no difference. I can’t really tell which are my feelings and which are yours… I suspect the hate and rage and dislike and distain that some of you feel for each other causes that. Great, just… great. Enslaved to a lie that I know to be false and still… I so… want to… believe it. Wish you’d just try to kill me again… that…”._

She finished in a whisper. _“Would help I suppose. Think it probably could_ …”. She left he rest unsaid but it was obvious. Then she could likely find the strength to kill us.

Ok. That was a lot to digest, apparently figuratively and literally.

 

Then her phone rang.

**Part 8c: Day Job**

 

Apparently she was one of those folks who has musical ring tones. It was Bad Boys by Inner Circle, which is the theme song for the TV show Cops.

 

…

_Bad boys, bad boys_

_Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do_

_When they come for you_

_Bad boys, bad boys_

_Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do_

_When they come for you_

…

 

I have no idea how the heck she has pockets on the spandex thing she was wearing, but from somewhere she pulled out a phone and looked upon it with a totally exasperated expression as she stated. _“Of course they call now… like the timing can’t get any worse”._

She looked up at us. _“I kind of have to take this call but… please don’t say anything”._

Please?

Then she hit the accept button and she mumbled in a thick Russian accent, she now sounded completely hung over, as if she had just woken up.

_“Groan… Da”?_

I heard some indistinct words. Almost sounded like…

She replied. _“Apologies Sergeant, I am… ill. Da… calling sick… I believe phrase is”?_

Some more indistinct words.

 

_“Da… I am… hung over. Your fiendish America clubs have been undoing. Tequila I believe. Lots and lots of devil drink Tequila. And I think a hippo has shit in my mouth from the taste of it”._

A few more indistinct words and a laugh. Crap, I so knew that laugh.

 

_“Da, I shall take it easy as you Sergeant say. I will be in tomorrow or upon call if wanted. Please apologize to Lieutenant Storr for me. I… I must again throw up now”._

She made some gagging sounds and terminated the call. She looked me in the eye and I swear she looked embarrassed.

 

 _“Why were you talking to Sergeant Zerbrowski”?_ Was my calm and controlled question.

 

She answered after a bit of hesitation. _“I am on loan from the Russian Federal Security Service, or so they think. A guest observer to see how Americans handle preternatural crimes. The St. Louis department is quite well regarded as one of the innovators in such investigations”._

_“You mean you’re a member of RPIT”?_ Was my more then slightly outraged question as I found myself suddenly glaring at her.

 

She actually fidgeted before defensively replying.

_“I was going to tell you… eventually”._

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Illyana has killed those she loved before; Cat in a fight to the death and a dying Ororo to prevent an even worse death for Ororo. Why sex? Well it is an Anita Blake story but… for those Illyana fans, what is Illyana’s back story? Things were done to her and she was unable to prevent it. Illyana always associates lack of control with being abused.
> 
> Sound familiar? My fanfic canon is that Belasco was in part a child molester and Illyana was his victim at so many levels. Illyana is now trapped again by forces unknown who are doing things to her, you can just imagine the depths of her rage at this. Oh, and every time this has happened to her other people are harmed, some by others, some by her. One of the reasons I believe she was shown as so standoffish in the relaunched New Mutants was this realization.
> 
> Again great thanks to Lord Grise as his ideas and inputs have greatly shaped not only this chapter, but the story itself.

**Part 9: RPIT (Pronounced Rip-it)**

RPIT (Regional Preternatural Investigative Team), nicknamed the spook squad. Used to be general punishment duty before Sergeant, now Lieutenant, Storr elevated the reputation of the squad. They’re the ones called in on any non human crimes, murder or otherwise. FYI, RPIT Vice is the punishment detail for folks on the RPIT squad (I’m fornicating with the monsters and just so… icky on some of the things that the RPIT Vice folks get to deal with).

 

I used to be called in quite a bit back when I was their paranormal consultant due to that little raising the dead ability that I have and being a vampire executioner. Back when I wasn’t one of the monsters as it were. I learned quite a bit about detective work from them.

 

Now that I’m a Federal Marshal I don’t see nearly as much of the old group because… well mostly because Lieutenant Storr doesn’t like who I sleep with. He tries to game the system to work with other Marshals and he does now have his own magical support staff in officer Tammy Reynolds.

 

There are three people I generally deal with in RPIT.

**Lt. Rudolph "Dolph" Storr (da main man)**

Six feet eight inches tall and built like a wrestler. He’s normally extremely "by the book" clean cut with close cropped black hair and a neatly knotted tie and jacket, even at 4 a.m. crime scenes. Dolph is such an excellent police officer that I’ve always kind of wondered what he had done to be assigned to RPIT as it was a low-status position within the police force.

 

Dolph was one of my main mentors and used to a dear friend. But lately our relationship has become very strained, in part because I no longer believes that all vampires and shape shifters are monsters, but Dolph still does. So lots of mistrust and distrust over my increasingly close relationships with the various vampire and lycanthrope communities in St. Louis. I think he believes that it is partially his fault that I’m fucking the monsters as he likes to put it; that if he’d never brought me in then I’d never have gotten as deep as I have.

 

Plus… Dolph's personal situation; his son Darrin is married to a vampire (and possibly going to become one), and Dolph and his wife Lucille are grieving over the prospect of a life without grandchildren. Dolph has a younger son, Paul, who apparently cannot have children. This led to some… physical altercations with me where he manhandled me at a crime scene; nothing sexual, he was just… rough. He also tried have my friend Jason Schuyler locked up in a secured facility simply for being a werewolf. That’s in the past but… we are now both very careful around each other and Dolph tries to minimize my involvement with RPIT.

 

 

**Tammy Reynolds**

 

She’s a Christian witch married to my good friend and protégé Larry Kirkland (who is also a Federal Marshal by the way and also raises zombies). The two of them have a young daughter. She’s the first detective witch to join the force and she chose to work with RPIT. Being a witch, she knows more about detailed spells or rituals than I do. I know the ideas behind stuff, first from a few general classes in college; and subsequently from the school of hard nocks. Tammy is five foot ten inches in height, somewhat younger then me, but she still has an innocence like Larry does. We frequency don’t see eye to eye.

 

Tammy and I are not friends in part because I wouldn’t talk to her about zombies. Larry would because… well I guess she had more paths and opportunities to interest him then she had with me. If I need to explain then you are really reading the wrong book (hint hint, wink wink).

 

 

**Sgt. Zerbrowski**

Another member of the spook squad (and still a friend). He’s the stereotypical rumpled, smart-alec, but highly competent detective. He’s of Italian descent and frequently reminds you of it. Loves to make wisecracks about my personal life and is a cheerful lech. Loves making inappropriate comments, but never really means any of it in a nasty way. I believe that he has some very slight psychic abilities when it comes to insights into crimes. Don’t ever ride in his car if you can avoid it. Just… don’t. Total toxic waste zone, I swear there’s ten year old junk food in there and likely zombie mice.

**_“How and why”?!_** Was my rather loud question. Guess her being involved with RPIT struck a nerve. Great, they avoid associating with me but they let an actual demon on the team?

She sighed. _“How is simple. It is my... day job as it were is with the St. Louis police’s RPIT unit. I started four days ago. A… grant was given to facilitate this, they think it is from Russia. Both to RPIT and a larger amount to the department in general”._

She continued. _“Why is simple as well. I am… investigating the sites of the rituals. I’m blind to the actual locations until they are found, but they have all been locations of murder so I felt a police presence would… help. I believed that there was a good chance that a ritual might be performed here due to the prior amplification of our link by one of the prior rituals. This… implied an interest in your little group by those casting the enchantments, that and apparent knowledge of your group”._

I continued to question the suspect I suppose. _“The RPIT people think you’re a cop”?_

_“No. I am like you were, a type of consultant with the FSS. Although in this case it is an official position in the FSS with actual police authority. I do not know much about police procedures or protocols nor do I pretend to… much to the annoyance, and frankly disgust, of some in the squad”._

_“And what happens when they find out that’s all fake”?_ Was my bitchy question. Wow, was I in a sudden mood.

_“It’s not. The head of the FSS and I had a… conversation. We came to an… understanding and in return I now have a shiny badge and actual credentials if you make such inquires. That happened when I first went to Moscow. I was… upset and… apparently made an impression with the FSS officers I interfaced with”._

That… that is so unfair. Although… I recall my own original brief conversation with her so I can kind of see how that would go. She can be very persuasive when she tries and… now that I think about it, when she lacks any emotional involvement.

 

 _“What kind of murders”?_ Asked Micah. Great, I should have asked that question. Focus Anita, focus!

 

_“The mass killing kind. To conduct magic at this scale takes vast power. Death is one way to provide such energies”._

_“Are there others”?_ Asked Micah.

She looked at Micah for a few seconds. _“A few, artifacts of great power, a now destroyed pyramid, and…”_. Then she got a slightly shocked look. _“Raise a demon, but not just any demon… Shards! I am being… forged as one forges a blade, but… for what purpose”?_

Ok… that makes sense. But why do you need her? So don’t like the sound of that.

_“So there’s likely a bunch of dead people at some undiscovered crime scene_ ”. Was my insightful conclusion. _“I see why being on RPIT might have its advantages”._

So RPIT now has a demon on staff.   How… interesting. Man I can’t even begin to think of how many rules that breaks.

 

I continued. _“And nobody senses it”?_

 

She frowned at some remembrance. _“Detective Reynolds is very… well we already do not get along. I think she senses something… she is very nosy. And her husband Larry did look at me funny when he came to the station yesterday”._

Yea, that’s Tammy all right. Say something that she doesn’t believe and she decides you must be lying (but only if you’re female). She’d gotten cranky at me when I’d been sick at a crime scene and she thought I was pregnant. I said I wasn’t and she outright accused me of lying, and she then told everybody that she thought I was pregnant which went over oh so well with Dolph, as in not. Bitch of it was I was simply sick, but man the ration of shit that I got. Some of them still think I got an abortion or something.

 

Lie and be accused of lying, tell the truth and get accused of lying… So annoying and infuriating. So… um… I thought upon some of her words and the dreams… familiar?

_“What name do you go by”?_ Asked Asher.

 

_“They know me as Natasha Romanova, although they tend to call me The Woman when talking about me, for some reason they don’t wish to say the name when I’m not there. Superstition I suppose, there is a Russian saying that the devil listens when you speak his name”._

I so just had to ask. _“How on earth did you convince the FSS to cover for you”?_

_“It was not hard”._ Was her indifferent response. _“Threats tend to always work once one demonstrates the ability to carry out said threats, but I’ve found that… carrots tend to work better for the more bureaucratically inclined”._

She gestured and a small white portal opened above the table, say three or four inches in width. A trickle of gold coins started to rain down on the table. She spread her hand wider and the portal expanded. Now more coins were raining down and then a rather large gold bar landed on the table with a cracking sound as the table shuddered, the impact scattered some coins on the floor. As she closed the portal an egg shaped ruby colored gemstone fell onto the table as well.

 

 _“Carets and the stick”._ I concluded. Yea… I could understand that. 24k carets.

_“Plus… I did the deputy director a favor while I was there, there was a threat to his life from the Russian Mafia and I… intervened”._

Wow, that must have been interesting to see.

She picked up one of the gold coins and briefly examined it, then flicked it to Micah who caught it. She gestured at the fortune on the table. _“Here, consider my dues to the Lycanthrope Coalition paid up. For me and mine I suppose, if there’s a news letter then send it to Egypt”._

Ok, blunt but effective. I picked up one of the coins, they had weird markings. Looked like Latin with some Caesar like guy on the one side and a globe on the other side. Hmm, (Pluvia aeternam), wonder what that means. I noticed that the other coins had other designs on them, and I swear there was a Nazi symbol on the gold bar.

Nathaniel asked a question that had apparently been on my mind. _“How… um… How did the TV get cut in half”?_

 

She had both an irritated and somewhat embarrassed look as she responded. _“You were all fighting over me. Mounting rights I suppose”._

So did not like how that sounded, or how that had to have looked. _“All the guys were all fighting over you”?_ Was my slightly angry question.

 

She corrected my statement. _“No, you all were fighting over me”._

 

 _“And the TV”?_ Prompted Nathaniel.

 

_“Anita cut it in half with a sword”._

 

I thought for a second, then replied. _“What sword? I didn’t have a sword. I left mine it at home”._

 

Illyana appeared to suddenly think hard for second, but then casually replied. _“Well… I… think you had one. Maybe it was… one of your knives instead. I wasn’t… really keeping track of things… I was… preoccupied at the time”._

Yea, it’s possible to cut a TV in half with a knife if you’re really strong (i.e. Hulk Smash!) , but not really buying that. A sword makes more sense. Got the feeling that she was neglecting to mention something. But Richard joined the conversation before I had a chance to pursue that topic.

 

 _“Who won”?_ Was his question. Of course one of the guys just had to ask that.

 

 _“Anita”_ replied Illyana while looking right at me.

 

That’s when I guess I recalled a flicker of a memory. I was… oh-boy… in a 69 with… oh-boy… Illyana. I was on top holding her down while I … oh-boy… while she had her hands on my ass and her head in my… oh-boy… I think Richard was behind me vigorously … oh-boy… and… **oh-boy**. Um…

 

She answered for me and she actually blushed, which was ok as I was suddenly blushing as well. _“Then… well… two women and six guys. Do the math. Anita and I were… busy with all of you and… each other”._

 

There was a brief lull in the conversation. Then Jean-Claude joined in.

 

 _“Might you now have the Ardeur”?_ Jean-Claude softly asked.

_“I sure as hell hope not”_ was her suddenly angry reply. _“The last thing I need is to become a raging…”._ She paused, and then continued. _“To have that problem”._

 

Ok, think I just almost got called a slut. A sliver of anger ignited within me.

 

 _“Do you need a morning after pill”?_ Was my cold question.

 

_“No. I don’t… menstruate. I’m not fertile as it were”._

 

 _“So now what”_ asked Nathaniel. Now that I think about it, Nathaniel had been much more… vocal all of a sudden.

 

Illyana responded while rubbing her brow. _“I’m going to take a long hot bath at my apartment and… think. Then… then I suppose first is a meet and greet with whom I’m bringing, you likely should bring in all the other big were groups like lion, hyena, and rat; plus their major players as well; guess everybody needs to see the new monsters in town”._

 

 _“I shall send word”_ replied Jean-Claude.

 

_“Then, I suppose I must spend time with Jean-Claude while he contacts the council. I’m declaring… hmm how does that go…”?_

She closed her eyes for a moment and spoke with them closed. It was French. “ _Harm sur vous, la guerre sur moi. Ahh that’s it I believe”._

 

Both Asher and Jean-Claude’s eyes got big. I puzzled out what she said (I’ve been working on my French for quite some time). It was… Harm on you, war on me.

 

 _“That is a… territorial statement”_ Jean-Claude delicately stated.

 

 _“Yes”._ Was her simple answer.

 

 _“Are you declaring us to be yours”?_ Richard growled.

 

_“I am stating that harm to you is war with me. I believe the last time the council was here they… played with you all. Well, no playtime, everybody out of the pool. This time they are guests and will act like it. Bring your own food I suppose. Take the rest as you wish”._

_“So you are allied with us”?_ Asher asked.

 

 _“Like I have any choices left in that… so yes I suppose”._ Was her somewhat angry reply. Well it started out angry, ended with a grimace from her. Then she continued.

 

_“And then I believe I must have private time with each of you for you to… explore what you may have become”._

 

 _“No”._ Was my sudden angry reply. _“Hell no. We do this together”._

 

Like hell I’m leaving my men alone with this blond demonic... Suddenly my unease crystallized. I had lots of mystical bonds to the men in my life, and now this bitc… she had such bonds as well. And yea I was suddenly having all kinds of delayed relationship anxiety.

 

She looked at me coolly as she replied… _“No. Nobody get to say what the others do in this”._

 

My anger burned brighter. _“ **I do.** In this I really do”._

 

She narrowed her eyes. _“No Anita you don’t. What has happened is very… personal. You all need to the option for privacy. You may not wish to share”._

_“And I say no”._

Ok, not feeling very rational all of a sudden. I noticed that none of the guys were saying anything. Guess I’ve trained them well to my moods and insecurities. They were seeing as to my resolve in this before expressing their own opinions.

 

Damian picked my side _. “I think we should do what Anita thinks is correct”._ Nathaniel nodded his head as well.

 

Micah went as I hoped. _“As my_ _Nimir-Ra desires”._ Jean-Claude and Asher nodded their heads as well, each with an _“Oui”._

Richard looked at us and then slowly agreed as well with a growled affermative.

 

With a united front I then looked back at Illyana, only to see that she had a slightly bemused expression, which just pissed me off even worse.

 

 _“There, decided. No more talkie”._ Was my so not helpful statement.

 

 _“As you all wish”_ was her surprising non confrontational reply. _“I defer to the alpha female of the relationships in this”._

 

Then she squinted and I heard a thought in my head.

 

_(I think this is how it the connections enable… ahhh… well promise what you want, but you can contact me if you wish it to be private)._

 

Everybody froze so I assume they all got the thought.

 

And with that I was standing, my gun was out aimed right at her head with my finger on the trigger and all she did was scowl back at me. God I was so angry, so filled with rage and hatred at what she was. I just so wanted her to be gone! To leave us alone! To not be!

 

 _“Ms. Blake”._ She said.   Oh it’s Ms. Blake again, no longer Anita. _“I don’t desire to take your men from you. Especially Richard, really double extra on Richard. The only reason we all fuc… had sex was the enchantment. It had it’s moments but… being the nail to Richards’s hammer is not on my list of priorities, nor is being a blood bag for vampires or weres”._

Ok, I can understand that. Richard is mostly into hard sex… ok really vigorous hard sex, and most women are just not into that but… I am most of the time. She continued.

 

_“I’ll… concede to your demands in this but you really should hear me out as to why that may be a very bad idea… Oh and, please put down the gun”._

_“Why”?_

_“Because I really don’t want you to end up killing everybody here if you let your anger make decisions for you”._

_“Scared”?_

A look of irritation on her face. _“Yes… very irritating, but not for me. I suppose if I push you then you might just shoot and… Well… what happens in your would of vampire bindings where one side is killed”?_

I took my finger off the trigger and holstered my gun, and with that the wave of hatred for her that had gripped me was gone… well mostly gone. _“The other side tends to die”._

Ok, that was way overreacting to just relationship apprehensions. Something… something’s not right.

She actually looked relieved. She closed her eyes and sighed. _“Please don’t do that again Anita. I… shards… care for you all and your deaths would… be very… upsetting”._

_“Our deaths”?_ Asked Richard.

_“That just… might have freed me”._ Was her reply.

_“But you’d be dead”._ Stated Nathaniel with confusion. I think I got what she was saying, and I think so did Jean-Claude and Asher.

_“No… the bindings would have disintegrated and the backlash would likely have killed all of you. I… I’m a survivor… I… always… well almost always survive”._

I sat back down thinking very hard about what had just happened.

 

 _“And yet you didn’t push”._ Was my observation.

 

She looked sad for a moment. _“Morals Ms. Blake. How… annoying. That and… love”._

And then she was suddenly angry. _“And yet how instantly you use force to try and get your way. How… quick a gun is pulled. Must try to remember that all of you hate me. Always happens regardless of what I try to do, regardless of what I actually do”._

She stood up and spoke with bitterness. _“Fine, do it in public if that’s what you want. Learn if you’ve become a horror and share that at the same time with the ones you love. Make sure that the monster you may have become is laid plain for all to see. But do it before the full moon if you’re a were, do it before you try to raise any zombies Ms. Blake, and do it before you take blood if you’re a vampire. Do it before any of you… feed again. But it’s your call, after all, how much could I possible know about such things? I mean… how bad could it be”?_

And with that she burst into flames! We all again pushed back from the table in a panic!

 

The fames ate away at her mortal form revealing her innate demonic form I suppose.

 

She absolutely radiated power, ethereally heated and simply flowing throughout the room, exactly like an enraged alpha. Except no were that I knew of grew horns, fangs, eyes that literally blazed, and legs with the extra leg joint and cloven hooves of a classic demon. It was still recognizably Illyana's face, except for the eyes and the elegant fangs, so like and yet utterly unlike those of the vampires in the room. Her hair was strand for strand thicker and wilder, floating in the currents of her power and framing the extravagant horns that erupted from her skull. A long devil tail flicked back and forth, very like a seriously pissed off cat. Instead of that black and yell spandex jumpsuit she had been wearing, now she was clad in some form of gladiator's armor, polished like silver and yet so very, very not silver. The scent of hot rage, pepper, gunpowder, wolf, and brimstone filled the air as she spoke, her voice like and yet utterly unlike the young woman she had appeared to be moments before.

 

_“Or you could find out just how bad it really can get. So talk it over, but don’t blame me if you refuse to listen”._

The fire faded and her moral guise reasserted itself, she was back into her human form, but the air as still filled with the scent of brimstone. _“There… now you’ve all seen it so no need to guess. I’ll… see you later I suppose. Call it 6pm at… heck the throne room”._

She then looked at me. _“And Anita… I’m really not interested in your men, although Nathaniel is the nicest of the bunch. Chill on the gun as well, very… annoying. As you so taught me, threats that can’t be done are no threat at all”._

She then spoke to the room. _“The sex was great, really great, but I hope we never ever do it again”._

And with that she vanished.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well the prior three chapters took a great deal of effort to write. I hope that I’ve stayed true to the characters. Apologies for the sex talk in this chapter, but this is an Anita Blake story and there was that little… orgy they all had. I know… I know… but it is an Anita Blake story.
> 
> I don’t generally put Illyana in sexual situations as Illyana is very standoffish of such interactions in the published comics for what are likely complex character issues. My Morning Light story was written on a dare from a friend (which was my most popular story for a while, much to my chagrin), One Night Stand was written as a bit of Guardians of the Galaxy humor, and Cat’s Cradle just kind of happened, along with the chapter where Illyana recounts how she was seduced by Dani when Dani was having a bit of a problem being a Valkyrie.

So… in my mythos, Illyana is no virgin, but you can thank Belasco for that (child molesting bastard). That means apart from a few flings with Dani which were all instigated by Dani, Illyana has never had voluntary sex (as all my stories that have that take place after this story). Now the _Ardeur_ is not voluntary, but nobody in that little… orgy was doing it voluntarily. I think Illyana would be… upset about that in ways that only Anita could really relate to (guy vs. gal kind of thing).

 

As always, great thanks to LordGrise.

 

 

**Part 10a: Ok, now what**

_“Well shit”._ Was my statement upon her departure, and it turns out everybody else’s simultaneous statement as well.   Jean-Claude and Aster said _“Oh merde”_ somehow French makes it sound extra distasteful.

 

We all looked at each other, rather a telepathic moment I thought.

 

Then Jean-Claude clarified it as he addressed all of us. _“Was that her or was that of our own volition”?_

Ummm… Good point. I think the curse was mine, but… The others don’t curse nearly as much as I do. Don’t know about her.

 

Asher dismissed the question. “ _Of no importance. The emotions and thoughts blend and flow across such linkages. She is distressed and we too are distressed, in that joint distress we curse. Of more interest is her changing moods. That was not the crying woman we left but a few moments ago”._ Well, more then a few moments but I got his drift.

 

 _“Shields up”._ Murmured Micah. _“When Anita flies she has tremendous fear of flying, she always lets us know to raise our shields as it were. Might Magik be… shielding now? Might she be trying to block spillover from us”?_

 

Good observation I thought and yea, totally terrified of flying.

 

 _“So when we all awoke she was overwhelmed by the unexpected flood of emotions on the wide open links”?_ Half asked and half stated Richard. _“Did… anybody else feel… shame”?_

Everybody nodded their heads, although I noticed that Asher didn’t until he saw everybody else nodding. Hmmm, she did appear to get more and more emotional as everybody woke up.

 

 _“So now she may be handling it better”._ Finished Richard _. “Wonder if that’s because the rest of us are less… frantic about it”._

 

 _‘Oui Richard. That may likely be the situation”._ Commented Jean-Claude as he stood. _“I suggest we adjourn to more comfortable quarters”._

We then left the blue room, and the mound of treasure which I suppose now belonged to Micah and the Lycanthrope Coalition. Bet the ruby was worth more then the rest of the treasure combined. Jean-Claude gave instructions to Bobby Lee, he and Claudine were outside the room as guards, to have the treasure properly secured.

 

We ended up in a mid sized cozy living room adjacent to Jean-Claude’s bedroom. A fresh refreshment cart was brought by Claudia with pastries, sandwiches along with hot and cold drinks. The weres all tucked in while I just snagged a coke plus a bagel with cream cheese.

 

I sat next to Asher this time. My men tend to get grumpy if I don’t mingle with each of them. Apart from Richard that is, as we are still very much not an item most of the time so he got to be grumpy.

 

 _“Now what”?_ Asked Richard with a pained expression. Yea, good question.

 

 _“We assemble the significant weres of the city for an informal meet and greet, apologies will be offered for the short notice”._ Was Jean-Claude’s comment. _“I have already informed the kitchen and the staff”_. I assumed he had mentally communicated to one of his vampires. _“No presents are to be expected by her or from her”._ Formal vampire and were society just loves to get gifts, and some of the gifts they give you so don’t want to get.

 

That meant appetizers and drinks, no dinner but an open bar. Vampires can’t eat, but I’ve been told that the French one’s always love showing off their cellar and cooking staff, mine certainly does. Jean-Claude could sense what I ate and was always having me tasting various foods. Was rather unhappy about the fact that I almost never drank and he so wanted me to try lots of wines.

 

Jean-Claude got all formal _. “Ulric I ask that you attend and bring those that you will from the Lukoi. Nimir-Raj I ask this of the Pard as well. I have already sent word to Raphael of the Rodere (wererats), Narcissus of the werehyenas, and Haven of the werelions. I leave to each of you to decide what kind of appearance and presence you wish to give. I shall fully present me and mine informally but dignified. At that time I shall announce the impending visit by the Council and greet our visitors”._

Greet not welcome, yea I noticed the careful word selection. Subtle. This also allowed each of the Were clans to snub her if they so wished by not attending or not showing up with an appropriate delegation. But that meant rejecting a request from Jean-Claude, who might then remember that rejection. Politics they name is aggravation.

 

Funny thing was I wasn’t sure if Magik would even care. Then I thought about it for a bit more. Yea, she’d… notice. Don’t think much actually got past her.

 

Micah tossed out a question to the group _. “Any ideas as to why she doesn’t feel dominant? Is she no longer an Alpha? She tried to intimidate without actually expressing much power, Alpha don’t do that”._

Yea, it’s not how big you are, but how powerful you were, and how scary. Funny she failed on all three with us.

 

 _“It could be because… Anita’s emotions were hindering her”._ Mused Jean-Claude. _“It is hard to frightening to those one cares about, even if that concern has been transplanted from Anita. And now… that problem grown in size from her perspective”._

_“Or she might not be as powerful now and is concealing it”._ Mused Richard right back.

 

Asher rejected that idea. _“That is hard to… believe. The council is not easily fooled”._

 

 _“Does anybody feel any different”?_ Was my question.

 

This prompted a general discussion. The conclusion of which was while everybody felt… well invigorated. Nobody felt… really different.

 

One of the keys to my feeding the Ardeur was to feed outside of my mystical links, meaning you can’t really feed by eating your own flesh. Guess that was massively satisfied last night. Damn I hadn’t felt that… full since I feed off of all the wereswains by feeding on their king (which he totally volunteered I have to point out).

 

I got a sudden distressful thought _“How many people know that we all… did her”?_

 

Jean-Claude did one of those Gallic sighs that he likes to do _. “Ma Petite, they all know. The scent of the… copulation and blood was quite detectable to vampiric and were senses. As well as the consequences to the Pard and the Lukoi. The feedings by her upon Richard, you, and Micah were felt most… intensely. Same as my vampires felt the feeding upon me. Not to mention the reverse rush of our feeding upon her. And all vampires blood oathed to me awoke even though the sun shown”._

Jean-Claude continued. _“But only_ _Claudia_ _saw the physical consequences upon her. And she has been sworn to silence by none other then Raphael her king; whom even himself she is to not to divulge any details. Raphael’s instructions are to… preserve her privacy in this”._

_“Ok… so what… is the gossip”?_ Yea, there had to already be gossip. Weres and vampires are no different from anybody else.

Asher gave a brief recital of what was being bantered about. A collection of what apparently the others had apparently heard while Illyana had been crying and then showering.

_“She enslaved us. We enslaved her. You took another bed partner and it got out of hand. She’s a nymphomaniac succubus and wore all of us out. She’s the new ruler of St. Louis. Jean-Claude has replaced you with her. You’ve replaced Jean-Claude with her. Jean-Claude is now her master. She only had sex with the weres in their beast form. She likes it rough._ _She’s_ _frigid and takes no pleasure in sex_ _._ _She loves bondage and tied us all up. She summoned a horde of demons and we all screwed our brains out with them. We’ve sold our souls. She’s our love slave. All weres are now her slaves… The list goes on and on… As is so often, gossip and rumor spread much faster then fact”._

 

Great… not like my reputation was that good anyhow. Um… kind of hope nobody mentions any of those things to her.

 

We got back to the topic at hand. Both Jean-Claude and Asher felt that the significant changes were predominately on her side, but that there had to be spillover from her to us.

 

 _“Links work in both directions”._ Was Damian’s comment. _“Perhaps we should attempt a brief contact”._

Richard opined. _“Might not be a good idea for us guys. It makes more sense for Anita to try as she is a she after all”._ Hmmm, not a bad idea.

 

I gave a nod and then concentrated… and… there. An impression of a hot bubble bath, the scent of vanilla, and an irritated scowl.

 

 _(What? Can’t I get even a moment of peace?)._ And then the link slammed shut.

_“A bubble bath”?_ Was Richard’s disbelieving statement as I described my impressions and her thoughts.

_“Women like bubble baths”._ Was my sudden defense. Heck I like bubble baths when I want to unwind or… Hmmm, I thought upon Micah spillover statement. Couldn’t help but wonder if she had been a bubble bath person before.

 

 _“Just doesn’t sound… demon’ish”._ Commented Nathaniel.

 

I know, right? So much isn’t making sense in that regards.

 

 _“I think… we need to ignore whatever we think we know about demons in her regards”._ Was Damian contribution.

 

Nathaniel went off on a tangent. _“Maybe she isn’t one but thinks she is”._

_“Nonsense”._ Spoke Richard with his usual tone if disregard when speaking to Nathaniel. _“We all felt her before, well most of us, you weren’t there when she first showed up or anytime at all on her last visit here”._

Nathaniel mostly lets such things slide, at least in public. He’s become more… sharing as to his wants and needs lately, but that was with me and the Pard, never with others. But this time he responded with a tone of sudden anger.

 

_“You can at least try to be polite Richard”._

 

Richard growled a response back. _“Don’t correct me little cat”._

Nathaniel actually hissed back at Richard and I felt his power rise. Now Nathaniel is a passive Beta. Never a pack dominant in the remotest sense. And never stands up to an Alpha. And yet he was suddenly getting in Richard’s face in response to Richard’s normal dismissive behavior towards him.

 

And Nathaniel’s power felt… stronger… hotter… and especially vicious. Which prompted Richard’s power to rise as well in response to the challenge.

 

Richard is one of the strongest weres around. And power just erupted out of him. It was hot and strong and angry. It filled the room and made it hard to breath as it pushed upon us so strongly.

 

Which prompted Micah’s and my power to rise as well. I felt sudden panic as everybody shifted their positions in anticipation of a fight.

 

 **SHIT!** The last time there was a major brew-up like this, Micah was almost killed, so was Richard and Jean-Claude! But this was over nothing! Massive sudden overreaction by both Richard and Nathaniel!

 

But before anything could happen there was a flash of light and an even larger power slammed into us all. We all froze as if we all had been thrashing hoses and somebody had abruptly turned off the water.

 

A silver armored Illyana was standing next to the refreshment cart. She was holding that burning sword of hers with both hands and she had a look of panic and rage on her face as she franticly gazed around the room looking for something. Just as Claudine and Bobby Lee also burst into the room with guns drawn in response to the bursts of power that had come from us.

 

And I heard screams again! But this time the shrieks of a dragon roaring out challenge in defense of territory.

 

Claudine and Bobby Lee were both smashed into the floor by the gale of power from her while we were all left standing. So much for the theory that she might be reduced. If anything her emanations of power were even stronger now. But now her power was not only hot and peppery, it also felt of wolf and leopard, the stillness of vampire, and the coldness of death.

 

Apparently she was not pleased as to what she found as her expression quickly morphed from panic to irritation. Then sword vanished and with it her armor; and the crushing weight of her power lifted.

 

Now we were confronted by an Illyana clothed only in bubbles and sarcasm.

 

_“Great… does somebody need a time out? Damn it! That costs me to do in this reality! Could you please let me know next time you want to kill each other so I can just ignore it! **SHIT** , I thought all of you were being attacked! But instead I find you all squabbling over something. I told you to take it easy until we have a chance to explore what you’ve… become. And here I thought that I suddenly got a chance to kill something that was stupid enough to attack those I…”._

She didn’t finish the sentence, just scowled even harder at us. _“… Thought I had a chance to work out a few aggressions, but no… just the usual soap opera”!_

 

She glared at us for a few more seconds and I swear she was counting to ten, but then she glanced down at the refreshment cart. She proceeded to snag a few chocolate chip cookies and a coke. _“You folks would fit right in on my world. Everybody always fighting at the drop of a hat over stupid shit. Can you all just… chill for a few hours? Hell try apologizing for once”._

She muttered something in Russian _. “Тупой ослов, еще более мыльной оперы”._ And with another flash of light she was gone. Leaving just a watery puddle of bubbles and two very shocked guards.

 

We all looked at each other and… everybody stayed calm. Shocked but calm. Claudine and Bobby Lee got up and departed the room while shaking their heads and muttering something.

 

Richard then actually growled an apology. _“Sorry… Nathaniel, I… shouldn’t have… dismissed you like that”._

This was private so an Alpha apologizing to another were group Beta had no stigma, plus… Shit… I guess that was when it kind of hit me, and it turns out all of us, that we were now all members of another group as well.

 

But was it a new group or her group?

_“Accepted and… apologies back”._

 

Wow, I don’t know who just impressed me more. And definite massive Alpha behavior from her just then.

 

We settled back down.

 

 _“She has gained from us all”._ Jean-Claude observed. _“More then just… emotions. Power as well. One wonders what else has been changed”._

 

Damian pointed out an issue before I had a chance to. _“Why did you guys apologize all of a sudden? One moment you’re about to have a full on Alpha vs. … crap it felt like Alpha vs. Alpha for a second there between Richard and Nathaniel and the next moment your both manning up and apologizing”._

 

Both Richard and Nathaniel looked at each other, opened their mouths, and then said nothing as they just sat there looking puzzled.

 

I pointed out the obvious. _“She told us… well them to apologize”._

Yea, she gave an order and they obeyed. Not good.

 

 _“So we’re her… slaves? Bound to her will”?_ Sighed Damian.

 

I thought about what has happened in the room when I first woke up, how… Illyana kept doing what I wanted with the weapons. I recounted that story to the guys. And what she had said.

 

“ _Might be... a bit of both”_ was what she said.

 

Ok, we all agreed that was interesting. And that we needed to… explore that the next time we met with her.

 

Asher sarcastically commented. _“So, we now have a guardian… demon? And apparently a group therapy facilitator as well. How… undelightful”._

 

Jean-Claude opined. _“I think our little cat has hit upon a very interesting point. She is… far from demonic in all that she does. Demon we have felt but… Ma Petite. Remember when the Mother of All Darkness bound you from being able to see or remember the charm you wear against her influence”?_

_“Yea… It was a blind spot. I couldn’t see it even when it was in front of me”._

Jean-Claude continued. _“It is not unreasonable to surmise that she is damaged based upon both her brief tale and the talk that Anita recounted to me that the two had as Anita’s house burned. It could be that more has been done to her then she herself knows or comprehends”._

_“Meaning she might not be as demonic as she thinks she is”?_

_“It is possible. The evidence is… fragmentary at best. This could just be how demons are in her world”._

Well… something to think about. Ok… tonight was going to be interesting was my thought as I got up to get a drink. While I was doing this Richard made an observation.

 

_“It just occurred to me, she didn’t ask any questions of us”._

 

I got a mug from the refreshment cart, poured in some hot water and made a drink for myself. I then turned to continue the conversation while I waited for my drink to finish brewing.

 

Odd, everybody was looking at me funny.

 

 _"What"?_ Was my question.

 

Jean-Claude was the first to answer. " _Ma Petite, you do not feel different"?_

_"No. Why do you think otherwise"?_

I lifted the mug and took a sip. Ahhh, just the way I like it. Hot and black.

 

Nathaniel began _"Then why... Ummm... are you..."._ He didn't finish.

_"Why am I what"?_ I said as I took another sip.

Asher finished it. _"Drinking tea"._

I looked down. There was a tea bag in my mug.

 

Russian black tea. I was drinking tea and not coffee.

Shards...

 

 

**Part 10b: Discussions and recollections**

 

I hurriedly got another cup and filled it with coffee from the decanter. This week it was a Hawaiian Kona and Blue Mountain blend, mild and delicate but tasty. Jean-Claude had a different coffee blend served each week as coffee and I were such good friends.

 

It tasted… off. The tea had been wonderful but the coffee was… kind of… well… yucky. I had Micah taste it and he said it was fine but… I love coffee! I even drink cop coffee which is usually horrible beyond belief. I’ve never really had… yucky coffee before.

 

I stared at the cup like it was a friend who had betrayed me while the others spoke.

 

Jean-Claude first gave a little lecture.

_“Triumvirates, the power bounding of three, are rare, duumvirate, the power bounding of two, are more prevalent but also highly uncommon. In vampire situations there is always a master of the bounding and the subordinates of the bounding. Similar one supposes to a witch and a familiar. There is also sharing of abilities and attributes. For example Anita’s ability to meet the gaze of other vampires and not be captured or dazzled by them. The bounding amplifies power, but comes at a cost as the death of one can mean the death of all in the bounding. To date the Triumvirate I have with Richard and Anita is the most complicated as Anita subsequently formed a second Triumvirate, with her as the center, with Nathaniel and Damian. Anita is also bound to Micah as his leopard queen and is Richards Lupa until he selects another”._

Asher waved his hands about in Gallic annoyance I suppose. _“Yes yes Jean-Claude, we know it quite well, what is your point”._ Which earned him a scowl from Jean-Claude.

 

Jean-Claude got to the point I suppose. _“Anita had four bindings, the most of us all, not counting the were associations. Now she has a fifth. Illyana has seven direct bindings if she is in truth bound to us all which should not be possible. Three vampire, three were, and a necromancer. Our emotions are shaping her, have apparently reshaped her. But her emotions and essence are reshaping us as well. You felt her power just now. Everybody please comment upon what you noticed the most as to its… taste one supposes”._

We looked at each other, then:

Damian: _“Cold… death was in it and whispering evil things to me”._

Nathaniel: _“Territorial, scent of the Pard. Angry Alpha”._

Richard: _“Hot, raging, the joyful anticipation of the tearing of warm flesh and blood”._

Asher: _“Calculating, varied, felt like the council. Silent as the night”._

Micah: _“Rage, searching for a threat to annihilate”._

Me: _“Panic, the scream of an outraged dragon protecting its own”._

Jean-Claude: _“The rage of love under threat”._

 

Ok… we all got different impressions of the power.

 

Hmmm, seven links. I suddenly remembered one of my comparative religion and magic classes in collage. Seven pointed star was one of the… Gnostic symbols of heaven. Interesting… tidbit. Needed to think upon that.

 

I tossed out an idea. _“She’s like me, multi incarnations I suppose. I’m human, yet I have the lycanthrope virus but I do not shift. She was demon, then dragon got added to the mix, and now… kind of human. But that means that we have likely received from her. So… what defines her”?_ Meaning what she was had to be reflected in what we had received. Rather suspected the answer but wanted the others to chime in.

 

We all tossed out a few words, all of which were good, which meant they were actually rather bad things.

 

_“Rage”._

_“Abuse”._

_“Desolation”._

_“Madness”._

_“Power”._

_“Longing”._

_“Calculating”._

_“Cunning”._

_“Demon”._

 

Crap, no wonder she found a way to escape the rape of fang and claw by manifesting as dragon. I suppose those things in part define what a dragon was, at least according to J. R. R. Tolkien.

 

Jean-Claude finished pointing it out. _“We likely have some of her rage or the emotional spill over of rage from her. If we are upset we must be… careful. That is likely why the tiff between Richard and_ _Nathaniel_ _occurred just now. But does not explain why Nathaniel suddenly has more… power”._

Yea… also explains why I had suddenly got so upset when she wanted some private time with everybody to explore…

 

I injected. _“There are likely physical changes for the weres. That’s what she was implying about being a monster”._

_“Anita, she said it about everybody…”._ Richard corrected.

 

Gulp. Yea… she did. So not looking forward to tonight.

 

Decided to change the subject. Time to talk about what had happened.

 

About the sex.

 

I asked a loaded question. _“Does anybody remember any additional details about what happened? I had a recollection… well I was on top of her and we were… eating each other out while Richard… went to town on me from behind”._ Ok, there. I shared.

 

Several of the guys still said no but Richard fessed up that he had started to remember some things and Asher said he recalled some details as well.

 

Richard spoke while meeting everybody’s eyes. _“It’s still just bits and pieces. I remember her… riding me while… she had a vampire sucking blood from each of her wrists. They were recharging I guess as vampires need fresh blood after they… um cum. She’s… were grade resilient I suppose as I’m pretty sure I’d have crushed her pelvis otherwise. Anita was next to us doing two others but I don’t recall who. Then there was this really big… orgasm and that’s when I think was one of the times she feed upon all the wolves through me. That and… snippets. It was like the Ardeur was plugged into a ten thousand volt cable or something. The only time anybody slowed down was when the vampires were recharging on blood from her. Just that… and the taste of her blood as well as I bit her breast and… and… drank as well”._

Ok, that painted an image. And I guess the ten thousand volt cable was her.

Jean-Claude asked question. _“Did the… did you sense the feeding upon the wolves when you bit her breast”?_

_“Yea”._

_“That was likely the moment that your link was forged”._

Ok, that would likely explain the weres and the vampires, but I didn’t… didn’t… Then I got another flashback of me again on top of her, biting her stomach and sucking on the blood and then flashing into a huge... Ok, real lycanthrope moment there as weres really do love flesh and blood, think my beasts were really in charge at that point.

 

Asher added his two cents. _“Jean-Claude and I were both taking her, one at either end, I was at her head and…”._ Great, the conversation had degraded into group sexual positions. That one’s called the split roast by the way, one of my… well I like it when I’m with multiple partners.

 

Asher continued. _“We each bit her neck and… I think that was the moment of binding for us”._

Yikes. Orgy sex talk. And if that group orgy was her first time… shit no wonder she cried.

 

Damian posed a question. _“I wonder if she can feed through us like Anita and Richard are able to feed Jean-Claude or_ _Nathaniel and I can feed Anita”._

Good question. If the dominant of a link does not feed then they start to draw energy from the subordinate links. I’d almost killed Nathaniel by not feeding the Ardeur. Once I gained enough control over it to avoid it turning me into a bitch in heat every twelve hours or so I had thought that meant I didn’t need to feed. Turns out control does not mean not feeding, it just means I get more control over when and who I feed upon.

 

Jean-Claude answered. _“Time will tell, we must all be observant to any unusual or intense hungers”._

Something was bugging me, then I got it. Asher’s bite! _“Asher, your bite is orgasmic, and your power can cause flashback orgasms if the person thinks upon what you did to them”._

Asher replied. _“And beguiling, the recipient can become obsessed with me. She did not look or act obsessed”._

_“But she might flashback”!_

I tried to speak to her on the link again. _(Illyana, Asher’s bite is orgasmic and can cause flashback orgasms if you try to think about the sex you’ve had with him)._

I received the feeling of irritation and some dismay, and the impression of a very wet bathroom floor. _(That would be been good to know about three… well two orgasms ago. Back when the water was in the tub. Figured it out after the second one)._

_(Second? Then why the…)?_ Impression of guilty pleasure from her.

 

Ok, I think she deliberately caused the third one. I also got the impression she was happy that the bathroom had a drain on the floor. _(Anita… Later on I need to talk privately talk to you about… shards… female things)._ And then the link shut again.

 

I recounted what I had learned (apart from the female things conversation request. Hey you don’t share some things with guys). And of course Asher just had to end up with one of his irritating smug expressions, gads men are just men sometimes.

 

Nathaniel then said he now recalled some details so of course the orgy 101 talk just had to continue. _“She was riding Micah and begging for it to stop, that she couldn’t stand the pleasure. Then you… grabbed her… breasts from behind and she screamed like the damned as I guess your_ _Ardeur ramped her up even more. I then… stopped her from screaming, at least very loudly while we all…”._ He didn’t finish.

Yea, I can guess what he shoved in her mouth to shut her up, and with that I remembered a bit more.

 

She was riding Micah and begging for him to stop. That it was too big, that it wouldn’t fit all the way. That she didn’t want to do this any more, all the while she wasn’t stopping her up and down thrusting and moaning. I came up from behind and cupped her breasts and nibbled on her neck. She begged me to stop, for it to stop. That she’d do anything for me if I would just stop this. That it was driving her mad. But the _Ardeur_ had me, had us all, and we wasn’t… rational.

 

I felt the _Ardeur_ rise even higher and flow yet again from me into her causing her to tremble and scream, then I held on to her shoulders and slowly pushed her down and over so Micah could lick and suck upon her breasts while he held her ass in his hands and pulled her down as well. She screamed in yet another orgasm as we slowly made her stretch and stretch and take the final remaining inches of Micah. Screamed like the damned as I then feed the _Ardeur_ upon her, fed like she was an inexhaustible supply of energy, screamed until Nathaniel muffled her cries. And then we all screamed was well she then feed upon us and the Pard.

 

Ummm… wow… we really seemed to be the sexual aggressors in all the recollections. Shit… we… really topped her. Weird, you’d have thought that she’d have topped us.

 

Nathaniel continued. _“That’s when I guess she fed upon the Pard and I think you also feed upon her at the same time. It was… spectacular. I think that’s when the couch broke”._

Great. Sexual super stars, that’s us. Sounds like we took the gold in all categories and completely fucked her brains out while doing the same to ourselves.

 

Suddenly got another recollection flash. This time I was on the bottom and she was on top of the 69 while Micah was behind her and Richard was at her head. And all three vampires were bleeding her while Nathaniel was caressing her. Oh boy. Seven at once.

 

Shit not only did we all do her, but at last one time we all did her at the same time. Umm… wow yet again. Rather amazed she’s not a sex slave… Um… Shit maybe she is? Oh boy… No, can’t be because she was rather emphatic she hoped to never screw us again. But… wow… we topped a demon big time.

 

And that’s when I truly knew in my heart that the links were the only thing keeping her from killing us. Whoever cast that enchantment are so dead if she ever finds out who they are, assuming of course that me and mine don’t kill them first.

 

Asher of all people then changed the subject, thankfully I might add. _“The Council will be quite upset at this turn of events”._

 

Jean-Claude gave another of those shrugs of his. _“Oui, She controls Egypt and now the council will fear that she is branching out to control the United States as well. They will know of some of last night’s events upon their awakening as Primo woke while the sun yet shown and I suspect his creator will sense his awareness upon her awakening”._

 

I gave my opinion while I got up to get a soda as I given up on trying to drink the coffee. _“Yea, Primo would tell all that he knew to his creator if she put him to the question”._ The vampire known as the Dragon had been his creator.

 

Jean-Claude partially disagreed. _“No Ma Petite… he may wish to but he is truly blood oathed now. He has lost volition over that. Bartolome and Valentina however did not awaken as they are not blood oathed to me, but they certainly sensed our… activities and will likely inform Belle Morte upon their awakening if questioned by her. They are still hers, not ours”._

 

**CHARACTER INTERLUDE**

 

**Primo**

A powerful vampire with great brute strength, who formerly looked to the Dragon as his mistress. He was supposedly created by her in ancient Roman times. He works at Guilty Pleasures as security and a bouncer. He’s been on my shit list for quite awhile, ever since Jean-Claude and I found out that he repeatedly let people in who are not supposed to be then, which resulted in fights until [Jean-Claude](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude) and [I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Blake) intervened. At the time he was almost powerful enough to beat Jean-Claude. Almost, in the end I was able to blood oath him. He’d wanted to be master of the city, but was not powerful enough then and is now simply outclassed by Jean-Claude. He’s to be able to feed off violence, like Jean-Claude can feed on sex; which in part was why he liked to cause fights.

 

He also has the ability to cause harm from a distance. He can rapidly heal fatal wounds by drinking the blood of a preternatural creature. Bad bad dude, one of our grunts as it were for any fighting, but not trusted very much.

 

**Bartolome**

Formerly heir to a huge fortune, Bartolome is of Belle Morte's bloodline and a child vampire around the age of 12 or 13, but I suppose he was big for his age. Not one of our vampires but currently resides here because he feels that he owes a debt to Gregory (wereleopard) and Stephen (werewolf); brothers by the way. He and Valentina had caused the two massive terror and the two of them felt guilty about it as the terror had been about Gregory’s and Stephen’s child molesting father, turns out child vampires really hate child molesters. Bartolome has been made a vampire because he had received a mortal wound, otherwise Bella Morte would have preferred that he be made a vampire at his late teens or early twenties.

 

For the most part, he is rather well-adjusted given the propensity of young vampires to go insane over time, I think it’s because he was partially post puberty. He speaks fluent Spanish and English. Rather likes to seduce women, don’t be fooled by his boyish looks.

 

**Valentina**

 

Child vampire brought over by a vampire pedophile. Very very creepy woman and yes I mean woman. Old vampire trapped in the body of a child. Very pre pubescent, heck I think she was six years old when she was transformed. She’s an expert torturer and causing pain is her substitute for sex because she is a small child.

 

Jean-Claude has described her as disturbed (she is), and she’s fond of trying to break strangers. However, she’s not without a sense of honor and she despises child molesters. She choose to stay here, with Bartolome, to make amends for the damage they did to Stephen and Gregory (which they still have not found a way to make amends, much to their annoyance). Nicknamed Petite Morte - Little Death. I think she also stayed to get as far away from of Marmee Noir (Mommy Dearest) as she could. She sometimes plays the child to strangers, but she is no child.

 

Supposedly all child vampires go mad, she’s somewhat unique in that she might be the oldest surviving child vampire.

 

**END CHARACTER INTERLUDE**

 

Jean-Claude grimaced. _“Yes, most upset. It will be good that she is there for the conversation. Likely even more dismayed once she declares_ _Harm sur vous, la guerre sur moi”._

Asher responded. _“There are many precedents. Dragon has her declared favorites, as well as Bella Morte”._

Jean-Claude agreed, but I suppose disagreed as well. _“Yes, and they are frowned upon. The Council will want something in return for agreeing to such forbearance”._

_“Forbearance? What does that mean”?_ Asked Richard.

_“We will be hers to punish if the Council mandates such a thing. Harm sur vous, la guerre sur moi means other Council members do not… play with us without her permission. But that also means she must either personally enforce the Council decisions or agree with any action taken if she allows others to enforce”._

_“So if the Council ordered our deaths or punishments…”?_ Prompted Micah.

_“She’d be the one to do it or it would be war with her”._

Hmm, don’t think that treasure was of much interest to the Council, but I’m rather sure they had a wish list of things that Illyana could likely provide.

 

Ok, whole bunch of things to think about. I raised a topic that I’d been mulling over.

 

_“Do you guys think I should consult with Shaman, or the witches, or even that weird Dr. Strange guy”?_

 

Glances around the room by everybody. Then Jean-Claude answered. _“I think you should… delay any such discussions until you converse with Illyana about it. She… entities of such… might do not tend to like others knowing their business”._

_“The witches did try to snuff her”._ Injected Asher. _“Conversations with them might lead them to actions that would be… unfortunate for us all”._

 

Yea, good point. I commented. “ _And Shaman had also urged those snuffing actions when I spoke to him so… likely again the chance of him taking actions that we might not agree with”._

And Asher just had to poke. _“What was it that Dr. Strange called you when Shaman and he were berating you next to your burnt out house”?_

 

 _“Ignorant, selfish, uninformed, possessing of more power then common sense, maker of poor living arrangement choices, putting the world at risk, and an utter fool”._ Was my answer. Well, that was the polite version of what they had said.

 

I distinctly remember being called a fang banging ignorant slut at one point by Dr. Strange. He’d really been upset at the little oath of mine that had granted her unlimited access to our world. I’d slapped him for that and we’d both exchanged a few additional choice words. Ok, nix the idea of involving them for the moment.

 

 _“And Edward?”_ was my response.

 

 _“Target rich opportunity if things go bad”._ Was Damian’s reply. _“He does love a challenge”._

Jean-Claude nodded in agreement but again urged caution. _“Again I would suggest that you first speak with her about it. He did… light her up after all”._

_“Um…. yea. Better make sure that she’d not holding a grudge about that. Wouldn’t want to… well get him killed”._

_“That would be very rude”._ Replied Richard with a smile.

 

Yea, but… Edward would so love this. Loved the challenge, he was Mr. Death after all. Decided that I’d check with her first. Hmm, be even better if I could arrange for him to show as Ted Forrester (his US Marshal guise) under some pretense.

 

Micah and Richard exchanged glances, then Micah spoke. _“I think… she smells of the Pard to me. I think Anita and I… well the Pard should correctly welcome a new member”._

Richard replied. _“As the Lukoi must also welcome its new pack member. I think… Anita and I did the same to her as you and Anita”._

I suddenly got another memory recollection memory and… oh-boy… yea… I guess we kind of did. Wow…

 

 _“Full moon in three nights”._ Replied Micah. _“The Lukoi is large so… assuming Anita agrees, she and I will formally introduce her to the Part in two nights and you and Anita formally introduce her on the third night, the night of the full moon”._

Ok, that was an olive branch. The full moon was more… honorable, most prestigious. I think the offer surprised Richard.

 

Richard agreed.

 

We discussed a few more things and then us mortals went and got a few hours shut eye before the big night.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for the rest of the monsters to meet the new folks in town. Rather a briefing kind of chapter, but there are many players in the Anita’verse so rather needed for those who don’t read the books. For those who want more info on Anita Blake I recommend a Wikipedia search using Anita Blake.

**Part 11: Greet and Meat (part a)**

Click clack went the sound of Illyana’s foot falls. She was slowly walking up to the dalais where Jean-Claude and I stood and her shoes were rather noisy in the now quiet room. With us were the rest of the senior vampires of Jean-Claude’s Kiss and scattered about the room were the various significant were groups of St. Louis.

 

Everybody in the room had fallen silent as they stared at her.

 

She was clothed in a blouse that has silver armored shoulders with spikes. Little silver skulls were woven into her blond hair and she had small, almost dainty horns upon her head with little silver tips. Long formal white gloves on as well, which went way past the elbow and almost half way to her shoulders. Now add red leather high heel boots that stretched up to her knees, and above that a white loin cloth that looked rather skimpy.

 

Click clack went her foot steps, like some slowly ticking clock or time bomb.

 

Hmm, not demon’ish enough for you? Well, there was her pupil less yellow glowing eyes, the long thin red devil tail that flicked about behind her and pervasive smell of burning gunpowder perfume that now accompanied her. That and the vampire grade incisors she was sporting.

Girl knew how to make an entrance, I’ll give her that.

**Part 11b: What went on before**

 

We were all in the big cave that Jean-Claude likes to hold the big parties in. Sometimes he had his throne there, sometimes not. This was one of those not time. This cleverly solved the issue of who would rise for whom as there was no place to sit. Just a nice informal gathering where everybody was already standing.

 

I tend to hate formal events. Even worse when it’s a formal vampire event. Everybody always jockeying for position as it were. Who was the most powerful? How scary were they? Who out ranked who on the social scale (With Vampires and Weres that meant who offered their wrist or throat to who).

 

This one was no different. Everybody was tense, you could feel it in the air. A Big Bad was showing up and that always was of concern. Especially when the Big Bad had wiped the floor with everybody the last time she was here. And that little detail of the Big Bad bringing others in as well.

 

I had a glass of Coke and some mushroom appetizer things with cheese and breadcrumbs. Tasty but I didn’t really feel like eating. When I got up after my nap the coffee still tasted… off. Really off. Irritating, I want to shoot somebody, off. So it was Coke for the caffeine I suppose.

 

The folks were milling around, but mostly keeping to their own types. We had some wererat and werewolf guards milling about as well; not to mention the two bartenders and the hors d'oeuvres table minder to make sure we don’t run out of munchies (weres tend to be serious eaters at these things as their metabolism runs hot and fast).

 

So… who was here who wasn’t a guard?

 

**CHARACTER INTERLUDE**

 

**WERELIONS:**

Led by a man named Haven. Werelions were not a large group in St. Louis, but powerful because… well lions I guess. King of the beasts and all that. The Pride was larger then the wereleopards Pard though. Haven had brought in few senior members and a few additional low ranking ones, both male and female.

 

They were all dressed to kill, not ultra formal, but sharp, like they were about to go on a major night on the town at all the best restaurants and clubs. They had no knolege of her and apparently went the dress to impress route.

 

The significant lions were:

**Haven (the Rex, meaning king, of the local werelions, very Male)**

 

He’s pale, with short, spiky blue hair, dyed so that many hues of blue are present, all mixed together, just like real hair. His eyes are also a pale blue. I tend to call him Cookie (in reference to Cookie Monster) as he has tattoos of Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street, and he has some more (but you need to be naked to see some of them, yea… I’ve seen them, up close and personnal).

 

Haven was first brought by Augustine (Vampire Master of Chicago) as a pomme de sang candidate for me (pomme de sang are folks you routinely feed upon and it is considered a high honor in vampire society). He tried to try to take over the local pride and failed. I’d sent him back to Chicago because I was attempting to preserve the local pride as a favor. However, that ended when the local werelions refuse to help us when we were attacked, unlike the other members of the Lycanthrope Coalition. Haven returned upon the invitation of Asher as we were all incapacitated due to almost dieing. Returned with his crew as it were. As a result, he took over the local pride as the former Rex, his wife, and his brother fled (At least I think they fled, part of me thinks they were killed, not sure and I don’t want to know).

 

He… claims that he is in love with me as he finds himself wanting to be better than he is in order to not disappoint me. Words like that really impress a girl. However, yea there is a however, Haven has issues with masculine dominance which is one of the reasons I keep my distance from him. He also had massive problems with sharing, sharing meaning me. Just can’t… stand having other men in bed with me and… well that’s a deal breaker with me at this stage of my life.

 

**Nicky (my bride… ick, Male)**

 

Nicky is a one-eyed werelion who had been sent to kill me. To make a long story short, he ended up feeding the _ardeur_ and being completely owned by it, hence becoming my "Bride" as it were (As in brides of dracula). It was self defense but I really feel bad about that. Complete slave to my will and completely in love with me. He sometimes sleeps over and the rest of the time he spends at the Circus of the Damned.

 

He was standing with me and Jean-Claude and not the werelions. He avoids the Pride because Haven would kill him as competition.

 

Rather big weight lifting kind of dude.

 

**Pierce (Male)**

 

Werelion brought with Augustine from Chicago as a pomme de sang candidate for me, part of Haven’s crew as it were. A brunette, with hair that looks like it might curl, but it's cut too short to have a chance. The swell of his shoulders shows that he lifts weights as more than a casual hobby.

**Kelly Reeder (Female)**

A werelion new to the St. Louis pride, recruited by Augustine and Haven. She previously belonged to a pride run by women, and believes that a pride should be like family. She’s short, slender, muscular, and blond. I’ve been told she’s a fighter who uses both physical attacks and weapons. Don’t think she and Haven see eye to eye on a bunch of things as Haven runs the pride more like a gang then a family.

 

 

**WERERATS (The Rodere):**

 

The wererats are the second largest were group in St. Louis, although there is some competition with the werehyenas for that title. Very strong and dangerous as the wererates have a great many ex solders and mercenaries in their ranks. You really don’t want a war with these folks as they understand very well what killing is all about. Raphael, the rat king, had brought a few Alphas and a few minor rats. There is a significant Hispanic presence in the wererats.

 

There were equally dressed to kill, Sunday best as it were. Claudia was currently standing with her king rather then being a body guard.

 

The other big rats (ha ha) were:

 

**Raphael (The rat king, Male and very yummy)**

 

Strongly Mexican, and is oh so tall, dark and handsome. Has a stern face and sensual lips (hey I notice those kind of things, I… like men... a lot). He has a crown branded into his forearm to mark him as Rat King and his clan is called the Dark Crown Clan. He and Nikolaos (former vampire Master of the city, over a thousand years old, and massive bitch of a vampire), had been in conflict over control of the city's rats and wererats until I killed her. I also saved his life so he offers me bodyguards or any other help when I need it.

 

Rafael also has treaties with Richard and Jean-Claude. He has an ex-wife who moved with his child to another state to get away from him because of what he is. He has occasional visitation rights but those visits do not go well.

 

He’s one of my friends and I really value that. He offered himself up as one of my pomme de sangs in order to have a better mystic connection with Anita and Jean-Claude and therefore be more protected against outside forces. And it doesn’t hurt that sex with me tends to make weres and vampires more powerful as they seem to sometimes cross a power threshold when the _Ardeur_ gets involved.

 

Shit, and now demons I guess… well… one demon assuming she’s actually a demon.

 

Crap. Really don’t like thinking about that.

 

**Fredo (Male)**

 

Slender, not that tall, and holed down to lanky muscle like the slender blades he favors. Six feet, with black hair and dark eyes. He works security at the Circus of the Damned. Although he carries a gun, his favorite weapons are knives. Teaches a short-blade class to me and all the bodyguards at the Circus, really good with swords and knives.

 

**Dino (Male)**

 

Dino is a dark Mexican in pigmentation. He is six feet tall and almost as wide as he is tall. He runs like a lumbering elephant but he fights so well that I never want to go against him for real. He also works security at the Circus.

 

 

**WEREWOLVES The Lukoi)**

 

The largest were group in St. Louis, ruled by Richard. He’d tried the democracy thing and learned the hard way that weres and vampires are hierarchical by nature. I believe in democracy, and I believe in a powerful person telling the monsters what to do; yea I know, bit of a conflict there. But I sleep better at night knowing that bad little vampires and weres have more then just the judicial system to worry about.

 

They were all dressed in casual jeans and shirts. Casual but all very very clean and neatly pressed. New in fact. Formal casual I suppose. Which made a kind of sense. She was supposedly now one of the pack as it were. And I suppose a statement to other were groups that they were comfortable with her (they weren’t but no need to explain that little nuance to them).

 

Richard you’ve already met, the other main wolves were:

 

**Jamil (Male)**

Skoll, or first enforcer of the St. Louis pack. Jamil is just shy of six feet, with rich brown skin and waist-length hair woven into corn rows. He is an alpha werewolf with enough power to keep Richard out when Richard lets his power wash over the pack. Jamil is very loyal to Richard. He and I originally had a good relationship, but when I was forced to use power to feed on him he feared me enough that I’m convinced I’ve lost a friend.

 

**Jason Schuyler (Male)**

 

Stripper at Guilty Pleasures, best friend to Nathaniel, good friend to me and occasional lover and/or fuck buddy, also Jean-Claude's pomme de sang. He's in his early 20's. He's a Gemini, has blonde baby-fine hair and sky blue eyes. Jason is also my height and loves to tease me or flaunt his being a stripper and/or sexuality. He has an intense fear of rotting vampires or anything similar due to being rotted on by two vampires in a sexual context (Icky on a level that defies understanding).

 

He’d recently cut his hair short businessman short. He has a surprisingly quick and discerning mind. As Jean Claude states so eloquently, Jason is the only person that can give me hard truths and not make me angry. He recently become my wolf to call.

 

**Shang-Da (Male)**

 

Hati, or second enforcer of the St. Louis pack. He is a tall man of Chinese descent and an unnervingly intense gaze. He prefers elegant clothes (with polished wingtip shoes) for everyday wear. Has a strong dislike for me due to the fact that I hurt Richard in the only way Shang-Da couldn't protect him from by being repeatedly unfaithful and a bad Lupa.

 

**Sylvie Barker (Female)**

Richard's Geri, or second-in-command and a good friend. She’s a lesbian, has short curly brown hair and is about five foot six inches, and dates another female werewolf by the name of Gwen. Sylvie is an alpha were and one of the few others, besides Richard, that can partially shapeshift. She also has a collection of bones that came from her enemies. She occasionally takes out the collection and runs her hands over the bones to comfort herself.

 

 

**WEREHYENAS**

 

There was only one werehyena present who was not one of the guards. Just one. And that werehyena was not Narcissus, it was one of his subordinates by the name of Bacchus. Narcissus had claimed other pressing engagement but it was obvious he was making a statement.

 

The werehyenas once only had fifty members in St. Louis, but had grown their pack to over four hundred now. Originally it was male homosexuals only, the pack had a great many workout buffs and bouncers (the term muscle queens described them quite well), but after the pack had been taken over by a very bad man by the name of Chimera, they had learned the difference between fighters and warriors, between pressing weights and hand to hand combat. Between being strong and being dangerous.

 

Learned the hard way.

 

I’d have bet money on the wererats any day of the week, but since then the werehyenas had recruited more combat trained members, and had branched out to both female members and heterosexual males, which was why the females had been allowed in as the hetro males wouldn’t have show otherwise. Keep in mind that hyenas are a matricidal pack and weres tend to follow their animal natures on pack organization so Narcissus works real hard to keep any strong female weres away.

 

I was the one that killed Chimera so they owed me big time for freeing them.

 

**Narcissus (hermaphrodite) NOT PRESENT**

Owner of the club, Narcissus in Chains (a BDSM club), and leader of the city's werehyena population. An effeminate hermaphrodite, Narcissus is into both sides of BDSM and not the fun, let’s have a safe word, kind of BDSM. Really likes hurting folks and being hurt. He had… enjoyed Jean-Claude back when Jean-Claude was not the master of the city when the prior master of the city had given Jean-Claude to Narcissus to… play with. Jean-Claude… really fears him, likely a leftover fear, but still a fear.

 

Really powerful were and not a person I like or wish to spend any length of time with.

 

**Bacchus (Male)**

Big, dark, curly hair and eyes of a strange shade of gold. And wearing a full dominatrix leather and spandex outfit. So did not like the statement being made. Bet Narcissus had heard lots of rumors about last night and was trying to make some kind of play at something.

 

Bet if he’d known about her crying he wouldn’t be playing this card. Well, you only get one chance at a first impression.

 

 

**WERELeopards (the Pard)**

 

The smallest of the powerful were group in St. Louis, ruled by Micah and I. They punched way above their weight class because Micah ran the Lycanthrope Coalition very fairly, in that it was for all weres and… well me. I was the biggest bad in the town. The Executioner of all bad little weres and vampires. Both via the judicial system and sometimes… not. Your only as good as your threat and mine is very very good.

 

Nobody played with my cats without my say so, or there was hell to pay; and I’d collected more then a few times.

 

Just like the wolves they were all dressed in clean casual jeans and shirts. Again another statement of familiarity and pack as it were. Tomorrow night with the Pard was likely going to be… well heck no idea at this point. Likely something informal at my house. Hmm, need to have Nathaniel pick up a cake or something from Costco.

 

There were only a few present. You’ve met Micah (leopard King) and Nathaniel (yea they were both here), in addition to them there was just Merle and Vivian.

 

**Merle (Male)**

 

Bodyguard to Micah, resembles an aging biker. He used to be the Nimir-Raj of the Maneater Clan before Chimera took it over. Micah ended up taking his place as he was willing to sacrifice his human form and Merle wasn’t. Strong were and major bad ass.

 

**Vivian (Female)**

 

African-American, with Irish genetics as well, for a very pale but dark coloring. Think delicate beautiful fragile doll. I tend to think she’s most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, perfect in all her proportions. Quite the Beta, not a dominant in any way. I guess Micah wanted her here to get a female take on Illyana.

 

Everybody had a nervous energy but she was really tense.

 

 

**St. Louis** **Vampires**

 

The vampires had apparently gone the werelion route on selecting their clothing. Again not ultra formal, but sharp and spiffy, like they were ready for a night on the town and wanted to impress. Radiated class and good taste, apart from Willie McCoy who’d look… scruffy I suppose even in a ten thousand dollar suit. Jean-Claude wanted to project class and style and he defiantly pulled it off in those fantastic leather pants and formal lacy shirt he was wearing.

 

Aster and Damian were present, so were Bartolome, Valentina and Primo. Valentina was dressed in a pink dress, like she was some kind of evil Shirley temple.

 

**Willie McCoy (Male, weak vampire, not really sure why he’s here)**

 

Willie is a small-time hood turned vampire. Kind of my first vampire friend as he’sone of only two or three vampires I have known before and after being turned. He manages The Laughing Corpse for Jean-Claude. Looks just like a two bit hood, loud tie and all.

 

Really weak vampire as he’s just a baby in vampire years. Hmm, so is Illyana in some ways but she… Well… she I guess she started with a whole bunch of… advantages as to the whole power thing.

 

**Wicked (Male)**

 

Brother to Truth, Wicked is a vampire of considerable power. Together with his brother, he was able to kill his entire bloodline after their Sourdre de Sang went insane and the vampires of their line began randomly killing people. The council voted on whether or not to kill Wicked and Truth, with Belle Morte actually voting to save them, but the brothers were left masterless, which weakened them. After traveling alone and masterless for many years I bound the brothers to Jean-Claude. Wicked and Truth ("The Wicked Truth") are considered among the greatest of all vampire warriors. Very much master class vampires.

 

Their bloodline has extreme speed and can pass for human, even to witches. If the vampire council wanted shapeshifters killed they sent for Wicked and Truth's bloodline, the "warrior elite". Really glad that we have them.

 

**Truth (Male)**

 

Brother of Wicked, Truth had nearly been killed trying to capture a fleeing vampire from the Church of Eternal Life on my command. That was when I bonded them to Jean-Claude (totally at their request I might add).

 

**Requiem (Male)**

 

Jean-Claude's third in command, Requiem is British-born vampire that Belle Morte offered to buy from his master to complete her blue-eyed trio (yea she collects people like some people collect Elvis plates). Jean-Claude was the darkest blue, Asher the lightest, and Requiem the brightest. He has the power to raise lust, straight lust, similar to Jean-Claude's ardeur. However, Requiem is always fiercely polite and sees taking advantage of this power as rape, refusing to use it uninvited. He has black hair and a trimmed mustache. His name comes from being "poetic, but damn depressing".

 

Another of my part time lovers but a bit morose kind of dude, liked to quote poetry to me.

 

**Meng Die (Female)**

 

Meng Die is short, delicate, and resembles a China doll. She typically dresses in skin-tight leather. Originally turned by Jean-Claude himself, Meng Die is an extremely powerful master vampire, an accomplished fighter, and like Jean-Claude, can call wolves. Unlike many of the master vampires of Belle Morte's bloodline, Meng Die does not appear to possess any variant of the ardeur (thank God for small favors). Although she is sexually accomplished, she does not have any particular abilities related to love or lust.

 

Meng Die is powerful enough to become a master of a city in her own right, and aggressive enough that her former master was happy to "loan" her to Jean-Claude, thereby reducing the risk that she would try to seize her former master's territory for herself. Jean-Claude originally invited her to visit his territory in order to increase his strength and defend his territory against challengers back when he was weaker and we lacked some of the heavies we have now. However, since Jean-Claude has subsequently acquires other, less difficult master vampires, I think he is regretting inviting Meng Die into his retinue, as her power, aggression and sexual jealousy of me make her one of the most difficult of his vampires to control.

 

Meng Die particularly resents me because one of her lovers, Requiem left her in order to increase his chances of forming a relationship with me. Spurned woman and all that.

 

**END CHARACTER INTERLUDE**

Well, that’s the who’s who. Thankfully nobody did the let’s be fashionable late routine. We all mingled and conversed for a few minutes with idle chit chat.

 

Mingled while continual reforming the basic clicks. Things were tense as nobody knew what to expect and by that I mean nobody. Some folks asked questions of us but we didn’t give any kind of useful answers. We were almost as in the dark as they.

 

Damn I wished we understood more, knew more. But we didn’t. I was really interested in the impressions she was going to make on the weres and vampires that we trusted so they could give us honest feedback. Our own impressions were… somewhat suspect at this point. We were too close to the subject as it were. And the only other person who had actually met her so wasn’t talking.

 

**BEGIN FLASHBACK WITH CLAUDIA**

 

 _“What do you mean you won’t tell us”?_ Was my, and I suppose, our complaint.

 

Before the weres and I went to off to go take a nap, we had called Claudia in to ask her of her impressions of Illyana.

 

_“I swore to Raphael, my king, that I would never share what I saw and sensed”._

 

 _“That doesn’t mean us”!_ Complained Richard.

 

She was rather emphatic that it did. _“It means everybody. To know anything about… I do not wish to be noticed by her. I do not wish her to decided that I should no longer know something as it might just be easer to remove the person then to remove the knowing”._

 

This is where the hero says that they’ll protect you. Yea… I don’t like lying and I couldn’t make that statement. None of us could.

 

Jean-Claude softly stated a slightly disturbing opinion. _“I take it you did not see a crying and hurt woman. Or that you… observed more then just that”._

_“I saw and sensed… many things. You are motes in her orbit. I do not wish to join you. I do not wish to be consumed. I do not wish to be prey”._

_“And if she… says you can share”?_ Asked Asher.

 

_“Then I will share only as she commands it. I obey my king in this”._

 

She was scared of something. It would be nice to know what she was scared of. It might just be that she saw Illyana at her injured worst and some Alphas don’t… like anybody ever seeing them like that. Or it might be that she saw her with all of her shields down. And since she had no link to Illyana, she might then see and sense things we… might no longer be able to.

 

A rat reared with a kitten is forever the kitten’s pal. But… other rats are still just prey once the kitten becomes a cat. She’s a predator… Need to remember that.

 

Predator. Yea… Just like all of us are.

 

Except she’s a predator that preys on predators. Crap.

 

**END FLASHBACK WITH CLAUDIA**

So… here we all are waiting for her to arrive. The last folks had gotten here about fifteen minutes or so ago. Time to say hi, grab a drink, and a bite to eat, and exchange some gossip. Crowd has lot of questions and nobody was providing answers as we really needed her to… well kind of answer our own questions first.

 

Five minutes ago I’d felt my link with her open. No communication, but it was like… like I felt the rumble of an engine or something. I exchanged glances with the others and they all kind of nodded so I guess their links opened as well. Everybody nodded so I guess that made it kind of official, seven links.

 

And all of a sudden I got a song stuck in my head. Rather weird. It was Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N’ Roses.

 

_…_

_…_

_Welcome to the jungle it gets worse here everyday_

_You learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play_

_If you got a hunger for what you see you'll take it eventually_

_You can have everything you want but you better not take it from me_

_In the jungle, welcome to the jungle_

_Watch it bring you to your sha na na na na knees knees_

_I'm gonna watch you plead_

_…_

_…_

 

Rather annoying song and not one that I like…

 

Nobody who’d slept reported any odd dreams which I suppose was good but still left us in the dark with no additional information. None of us who needed to feed had fed, meaning the vampires and I. And… well I still felt full, and so did they. It was like my beasts were lazing in the sun with fully bellies. Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Wolf, all just… content.

 

Hate being in the dark about things…

Speaking of being in the dark… it was getting darker… and colder. Like… something was eating the light and warmth. I froze as I noticed that the walls had… faded into darkness and so had the ceiling. It was like we were now within some vast indistinct cavern.

 

And that’s when we noticed her. Just standing there in the middle of the floor. Looking at us. Half demon, half human.

 

How to describe the look she gave the crowd? Hmmmm, have you ever seen a cat waiting to pounce upon a bird or a gopher? Body pressed to the ground, still but tense, ready to spring, and the tail almost not moving, but instead doing little jerky motions.

 

It was kind of like that. Conversation didn’t so much die as it had an abrupt stroke.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Showtime! Took me awhile to craft the implementation of this chapter as this is kind of Illyana’s big coming out party in the Anitaverse. Again much thanks to LordGrise.

**Part 12a: Greet and Meat (part b)**

At first she just stood there.

 

Not moving apart from her tail making those jerky twitches and her head shifting about as she took in the room. Don’t know where the walls and the roof went, where they once were just faded into darkness, yet we still had light as if the lighting fixtures were still somehow there. I’d bet that it was some kind of illusions, vampire mind trick, or some mixing of the two…

 

Crap, if it was vampire mind tricks then she’d gained and apparently already knew how to make use them.

 

But what was equally creepy and foreboding was that everybody now suddenly had shadows and they all faced away from her as if she was some kind of light source yet… she emitted no light. There was brief verbal consternation as folks noticed other people’s shadows and then their own.

 

The shadows were not always the shape of the person casting the shadow. And even though she was just standing there… some of the shadows were moving.

 

The wererate Alphas cast shadows of their half man half rat form, tails and all, while the minor rats just cast shadows of big rats. Noticed that Raphael’s shadow had a crown and his shadow’s head kept turning as it if were checking out the room.

 

The werewolves all cast shadows of standing wolves, no half man shaped shadows. But Richard’s shadow had red eyes (how the hell does a shadow have red eyes?) and… crap there was a whisper of a growl from his shadow as it bristled at the Micah’s shadow and crouched as if to spring.

 

The wereleopard’s shadows were also just leopards, but they were extra inky dark. You could see the hair on the wolves but nothing on the leopards, just… blackness. And Micah’s shadow was crouched and facing Richard’s shadow, and its tail was waving back and forth, almost as if to taunt the wolf shadow.

 

The Lions Alphas all cast half man half lion shadows, and Haven’s shadow had a massive black mane tinged with gold (shadows with colors, don’t ask me how but yea… golden). The Betas all just had lion shadows that were submissively crouched before Haven’s shadow, which I swear looked like it was preening as it raised a massive paw and swiped at a beta werelion shadow tossing it half way across the room.

 

Bacchus, the lone none guard werehyena, just the shadow of a massive hyena that was bobbing its head up and down as if in amusement.

 

Most of the vampires cast human shaped shadows that faced her and did not move in any way. Like they were frozen between fight or flight. Most… Jean-Claude, Asher, and Damian shadows had red eyes and were moving in that they faced each other and looked like they were having a casual conversation with much hand movements and gesturing. Irritatingly Asher’s shadow appeared to have a martini glass that it kept sipping from.

 

Really didn’t like my shadow. It…was shaped like her. Her demon shape and every movement of her tail was echoed by the shadow I now cast. Just two little differences, my… shadow had a gun in one hand and what looked like a sword hilt over the shoulder. Rather liked that my shadow was using a gun as so many were’s and vampires just try to rely upon strength and speed.

 

At that point Richard’s shadow sprung at Micah’s shadow and the two shadows silently fought across the floor with no discernable impact upon the actual people. When the tussling shadows got to close to other Alpha shadows those Alpha shadows snapped at them or reacted in some way like swiping a paw.

 

The conversation died out again as apparently the shadow drama did not actually affect the real world and all eyes again focused on her. I think mine got there sooner and I noticed a hint of… concern and surprise on her face as she saw the shadow play, a hint that vanished just after she saw my eyes.

 

Wondered why she cast no shadow and then I had a wild idea. Maybe… just maybe, the darkness was her shadow. So didn’t like that idea as that meant… well meant that she cast a really big shadow.

 

Well… everybody stared at her and she stared right back. And as she did this… I saw colors all of a sudden. Now, if I mediate for a long time, I’ve found that I can sometimes see auras. Mostly my own and the auras of other’s I’m bound with. But now… all of a sudden… wow.

 

Suddenly everybody had a glow of colors about them, and those colors… told me things. It was like at a glance I could see what they were as their lycanthrope condition was just… there. Like splotches of color on a primary base. I could see their emotional state, and… other things that I didn’t understand. Each lycanthrope type had their own color as it were, so did the vampires. For lack of a proper reference vampires were pale cold blue, wolves were red, leopards were green, rats were yellow, lions were purple, and so on.

 

And Illyana… Well crap, she blazed. Her base color was black but sheathed with red flames and… splotches of blue, red, green, gold, and other colors. Blazed with power. I wondered to myself if this was how she viewed the world? If so then… again wow.

 

I glanced down and interestingly I couldn’t see my own aura. But everybody else who’d been with her had a dark streak of black in their aura, black flecked with gold.

 

I could see terror in some, concern in all, and deceit in a few. Were senses could normally tell if a person was lying, but not with me as I’ve been told that my scent and heartbeat apparently don’t change when I lie; but that’s mostly when I go to my mental place that I kill from, more of that sociopath thing that I have going. Rather freaks out the weres as it makes my threats extra scary as they can’t tell if I’m lying.

 

If she was able to do this then lying was so not a good idea with her. Or playing poker I suppose. Talk about negotiation advantages…

 

Then she started to slowly walk. Click clack went her noisy footsteps, which again had to be deliberate. The floor was stone, but nobody’s else’s shoes made that kind of noise. Almost like she had top dancing high heels (is that even a thing?).

 

She came to the first grouping, it was the wolves lead by Richard. She stopped and stared at them and they stared back. The Beta wolves did not meet her eyes as they showed submissive behaviors as one does when greeting an Alpha; and so did their shadows. But Richard, Jamil, Shang-Da, and Sylvia all stared back. I could see the uncertainty in all of them except Richard.

 

Then her scent changed, I suppose I was picking up that detail from Richard. It now had wolf in it. And then she did something that shocked everybody.

 

She offered her right wrist to Sylvia with a small smile.

In were and vampire society your ranking really matters. In formal events this is shown by either offering your wrist or more formally, your throat, if you acknowledge yourself subordinate to somebody. By making such a gesture she was stating that Sylvia outranked her… at least in the Lukoi, the werewolf pack.

 

I thought furiously. Wow, by offering a wrist to Sylvia instead of Richard she was stating that she had no… plans. No take over. Everybody here knew that she’d screwed Richard, and that she’d feed upon the entire Lukoi via Richard. By making that gesture she was publicly stating that she was not Lupa (Lupa was queen wolf to Richards Ulric) and had no plans on being Lupa or… or… had her eye on Sylvia’s position.

 

Without saying a word she’d just made a statement to one and all, assuming she was telling the truth that is. And apparently wasn’t going to hid in anyway what we’d all done the nasty. And something that was tense within me relaxed a bit, and I noticed in the corner of my eye that my shadow hosted her gun.

 

Sylvia’s eyebrows rose in complete surprise. She glanced to Richard and he nodded. She took Illyana’s wrist and brought it to her mouth and gave it a lick. And with that I could see much of the tension flow out of the wolves both physically and in the shifting of their shadows as some of the shadows sat, heck one laid down as if for a snooze, the Beta shadows stopped submitting and Sylvia’s gave a silent howl. There was still tension, but… it looked like she was following pack rules, rules that they understood and animals are so in the now.

 

Sylvia released her wrist and Illyana started walking again with that slow click clack again. The next group was the wereleopards, the Pard. Again she stopped and stared and her scent again changed, now flavored with leopard as well, and yet wolf was still there. She stared and they stared back, again the betas showed deference.

 

Damn I could just see that Vivian was trembling. Really wanted to let her know that things… well… I so was not going to let there be a repeat of what happened to her the last time.

 

And as they all stared at each other Illyana’s devil tail gently reached out and took an unopened can of Coke that Nathaniel had been holding. The barbed tip opened the can with a hiss of escaping CO2 and the tail raised it to her lips for her to take a sip. Then she returned the can to Nathanial and then… Her actions drew gasps from everybody.

 

She offered her wrist to Vivian, the most beta of the leopard present!

 

Damn, I could see Vivian’s terror really spiking in her aura and her shadow just groveled before Illyana. Vivian had been so savagely raped and tortured the last time some members of the council had visited. I’d given the bastard Fernando to the Lukoi for what he’d done to Sylvia. Bastard was now dead and folks know just what happened to those who abused my cats but such trauma does not just fade away.

 

Vivian slowly took Illyana’s offered wrist, like it was a cobra or some kind of trick, then… give it a lick as well. And with that most of her terror faded. Illyana was again making a very specific statement, but this time to a very low ranking Pard member. No threat. She offered Vivian no threat. And with that Vivian’s shadow transformed from a leopard to the silhouette of a kneeling crying woman.

 

This… was interesting. Not… what I, or anybody expected.

 

She started walking again and as she did so Vivian’s shadow stood and watched her.

 

Now Illyana came to the wererats on one side and the werelions on the other. She faced the rats, but this time no wrist was offered. They stared for a long moment and I could see Claudia’s concern. Then… Illyana gave a small bow to both Raphael and it looked like the Rodere in general. A gesture of some kind. Not per any vampire or were protocols that I knew of but… looked respectful and not sarcastic. There auroras of the rats all looked… pleased.

 

She gave then turned to the lions and again they stared. Haven stared her in the eye, but this time it was a stare of challenge and as he did so his shadow bristled and assumed a dominant stance. Guess all her behavior had made him think she wasn’t all she had been made out to be. A stare that she returned and you could feel both of their powers rise.

 

Heck, I could even see it. Haven was strong, really strong, all dominant Rexs are that way. His power rose and so did hers, like it was some kind of arm wrestling or a tug of war between the two of them.

 

He was tense, straining. She looked relaxed, but her tail was swishing in agitation. Then the struggle broke as her power slowly enveloped his and began to squeeze. He grunted and relaxed his power, and as he relaxed she also backed off on her power. Contest over.

 

She turned her back on Haven and dismissed him with a sniff and a flick of her tail. Okay, guess that was one point for the rats, lost point or points for the lions.

 

She started walking again towards the dais. Bacchus was on her left and she just walked past him as if he wasn’t there. Not possible for her to mistake him for a guard as he was dressed all bondage like. Then the first word was spoken, and it was Bacchus who spoke.

 

_“Narcissus extends his welcome and offers you the hospitality of his club and the enjoyments within”._

Great, no gifts. The message to all had been no gifts to be offered and she would in turn not be offering gifts. Narcissus just so had to try to play by his own rules.

 

Illyana slowly turned around and confronted Bacchus and gave him a look. Not a nice look and Bacchus quickly assumed a submissive posture and so did his shadow. I got a whisper of screams on my link, her screams. Some memory of hers I think and not a nice one.

 

She smiled and spoke for the first time. _“Accepted”._ Turned and resumed walking. I think… Narcissus just made a big mistake and it looked like Bacchus thought the same.

 

She reached the dais where Jean-Claude, the vampires, and I were standing, and stepped upon it and approached. The three gabby vampire shadows (Jean-Claude, Asher, and Damian) all now faced her as well. I also noticed that Micah and Richard shadows had stopped fighting and were staring at her.

 

We exchanged looks, not stares as she approached. For a flick of a second I would have sworn she looked apprehensive. Then, as I rather now expected, she offered her throat to me.

 

Throat, not wrist. Yet another statement.

 

If you’re planning on being Lupa you don’t offer your throat to the current Lupa. Ditto if you’re planning on challenging for Nimir-Ra as well. And utter ditto for those who might think that she’d replaced me with Jean-Claude.

 

Girl really know how to play politics. Everybody knew we’d all had had a blowout orgy. The beast with… well heck I guess eight backs. This… really put to bed most of the current gossip; but of course would create new and interesting gossip and speculation.

 

I did what I had to do. I gave her throat a lick.

 

 

**Part 12b: Greet and Meat (part c)**

 

Afterwards she turned around and faced the gathering and spoke.

 

_“I do not answer to Dragon, that name is used by another and the two of us agreed that it was hers”._

Which is culturally correct. I’d been told by Jean-Claude and Aster that all the old vampires held to the tradition that only one vampire would have a specific name and personal vendettas had been waged over the use of names. So there was only one Aster, only one Jean-Claude, only one Dragon. But the plethora of modern vampires had caused that practice to fall out of vogue with the younger vampire crowd, unless a young vampire wished to be known by a name that an older vampire used and took exception to another using it. Funny, nobody was fighting over the name Willie.

 

She continued. _“Childe, Darkchilde, Magik, these are common names for me. Natasha Romanova is a public name I’ve started to use as I’m currently working with Regional Preternatural Investigative Team, on loan from the Russian Federal Security Service. For seven of you I am also known as Illyana”._

_“Yes I am a demon. Yes this form is real, so are my other forms, including dragon. I am now also a type of vampire in that I feed upon life energy similar to how Anita feeds upon it, although physical intimacy is not needed. In dragon form I feed upon both flesh and energy”._

She started to slowly pace up and down the dais. _“I’m… going to be staying here for at least a week, possibly longer, possible much longer depending how some things work out. Some of those things involve the Vampire Council. Six nights from now the entire council will be here for negotiations as to my joining the council and taking the empty seat”._

That got the crowd stirred up as there was a brief gasp and mumbling amongst everybody who didn’t already know. We’d told Silvia and Vivian before this little shindig so they at least know the bad news. She paused while this happened, and then continued after thirty seconds.

 

_“This time the council are guests of Jean-Claude and the rules are simple. Bring your own food. They have no claim on anybody in St. Louis. They will not allowed to harm or feed upon anybody without their consent. Blackmail does not fall under my definition of consent and my definition is the one in force. They can bribe you, make you offers, that is all per the rules. Threats are not, blackmail is not, lack of choices is not, lack of consent is **NOT** ”._

_“Why? Because you are all mine… and yet I belong to… them… the seven. It’s complicated. Don’t’ think you can manipulate it for your own gains… you will fail and I will... be angry. Suffice it to say... nobody gets to hurt what’s mine”._

I could hear some sighs of relief and could see more then a few folks thinking about panicking. Damn this aura viewing thing was fantastic on insight… hmm bet she was doing right now which… likely explains why I could suddenly see.

_“They will all be here by the sixth night, but nothing prevents them from starting to arrive tomorrow night. Expect council servants to start arriving tomorrow”._

 

And again some consternation and brief conversation broke out. She continued after twenty seconds or so.

 

_“It is expected that I, as a council member, have a court. I’m not really big on hangers-on so I’m currently only bringing three to this party; but I suppose I could bring every vampire and were from Egypt if I had sufficient reason and motivation”._

I suppose she then answered some of the whispered mumblings.

 

_“Some of you may be wondering if I have the power to enforce my rules. The council wishes me to join so they are motivated to keep their little pet monsters on a tight leash and I…”._

Her power rose. Not fast, not hard, just rose like the tide or a moon coming over the horizon, and the sheer magnitude of it froze everybody in place. Not by any act of that power, just the act of prey freezing in place and hoping not to be noticed.

 

_“…Will get very upset if certain things that now matter to me are harmed. Very upset. The last time I got upset the Master of Egypt and his whole court died and were consumed by me”._

 

The power relaxed, but was still there, like an avalanche about to fall…

 

She then shouted. _“Ōyutaka Masachika stand forth”!_

 

There was a flash of a circle of light and now I once again beheld the biggest Fing werelion I’d ever seen or heard about. And the strongest werelion as well as power just radiated from him. He cast a shadow of a lion, not a half man half lion and his shadow was a big as he was.

 

He was Japanese and obviously some kind of Sumo wrestler. Six foot ten inches and at least 400+ pounds. And when I say big I don't mean fat, yea there was a load on him, we are talking Sumo wrestler after all, but there was a massive amount of muscle on him as well. Think a really wide slightly shorter version of Shack O'Neal and you'd be close. He was dressed in traditional Japanese black and silver silk robes and had two Japanese katanas in his silk belt.

 

He bowed low to Illyana. “ _Kurai aijin, I great you. What is your will”?_

_“Learn the city, work with the weres. Do not kill unless commanded. Make yourself… friendly with the local lions. Consult with Micah and Richard”._

Wow, the werelions had all just frozen when Ōyutaka had appeared. They’d heard of him but hearing and seeing are two very different things.

 

Ōyutaka rose from his bow, briefly scanned the room, and then walked in the direction of the werelions. Everybody held their breath. Was this a challenge? Was Illyana taking over the werelions?

 

Ōyutaka reached the werelion group, they’d already adapted submissive postures, even Haven, can’t say that I blamed him; and so had their shadows. Ōyutaka was just so much… bigger and stronger.

 

Ōyutaka enveloped Haven and Pierce into a hug that lifted them both from their feet as he loudly proclaimed. _“We shall drink sake and consume sushi my brothers till we pass out”!_

Ok, not a challenge. More of a frat boy ritual I suppose. I could feel the werelion relief from here, not to mention see it.

 

Illyana gestured with her hand and another circle of light flickered next to her and then vanished. In its place a vampire now stood next to her.

 

She introduced him. _“Gunther Fisher, Master of Egypt”._ His shadow looked like it was in some old military uniform, even had a spiked helmet.

He was roughly five foot, eleven inches or so. Very German looking I suppose with a wide face and black hair. He had on an elegant dark blue suit with a grey shirt and a red tie. Looked mid thirties in age but was supposedly over a hundred years old which made him massively young to be a Master of a city.

 

She gestured to where Jean-Claude and I stood. He bowed slightly and walked over to stand at the end of the dais, next to Meng Die. Noticed that her shadow had started checking out his shadow.

 

She then gestured one more time another circle of light flashed into existence, but this time it stayed; and that poised avalanche of power of hers began to drain into it. Illyana was now clenching both hands and mouthing unheard words. Little sparks started spiting out of the light circle as all power she has summoned flowed into it.

 

Then she screamed one word. **_“S’ym”!_**

 

There was a cracking sound and in the place of the light circle was an eight foot tall bald purple bipedal creature wearing a black vest and green shorts. It had a massively thick tail, long claws on its hands and feet, a single short horn protruding forward from the top of its forehead. It smelled of old ashes, blood, sulfur, burnt tobacco, and was smoking a cigar of all things. It radiated a massive sense of evil and cruelty. And its shadow was dark, jagged, and hurt to look upon it.

 

The creature… no not creature… he smiled, sucked in a lungful of smoke which caused the cigar to glow red, and spoke with a smoky growl.

 

_“You rang boss babe”?_

 

 

**Part 12c: Greet and Meat (part d)**

 

He looked around with room with a grin that quickly developed into a scowl. He stared at me, Jean-Claude, Aster, and Damian for a second (we were all standing in the same locality) and then he glanced back to Illyana and then stared at the room for a few seconds.

 

He then spoke some unknown language in a questioning tone. **“የእርስዎ ይማርከኝ አለቃ”?**

 

She answered in what sounded like the same language. **“አዎ, ነገር ግን እነርሱ. አንዳንዶች በቅርቡ የሞቱ ሞኞች ከእኔ ጋር የቪኦኤን ነው መሆን”.**

 

No idea what the heck they were saying. Obviously a private conversation and one that had to involved us.

 

There were a few more exchanges of incomprehensible gibberish which resulted in Demon boy (yea I’d decided he was a demon) looking both annoyed and slightly downcast. Then she said something that perked him as he gave a toothy smile.

 

Why did I conclude it was a he you ask? Well… the groin bulge made it a him in my mind.

 

The creature spoke again. “ _Evening gents. Name is S’ym. Boss’s enforcer”._

And that was that, apparently not a big talker.

 

Illyana then gestured and again we felt her power rise, but this time it was directed at this creature call S’ym. Power enveloped him and as it did she spoke and gestured with both her hands and tail.

 

**_“Mutare vultus tui”!_ **

 

And with that the creature transformed, shrank down into just a seven’ish feet tall, the tail shrank as was looked like it got sucked into his body. His skin went from purple to black and his body sifted into that of a very large bald African America from what ever the heck he was before. Still smoking by the way.

 

She looked… well looked is the wrong word. She looked the same but she felt… tired to me. Like what she’d just done, bringing this creature and doing whatever the heck she’d done to him, had cost her a great deal.

 

The creature examined its now human hands and then its body with a look of vague dismay but said nothing.

 

She spoke. _“S’ym, I have a job for you. An individual by the name of Narcissus has kindly offered me the use of his club and the enjoyments within. Please show him what I think of his offer”._

Bacchus suddenly looked like he’d learned that his pet dog had died horribly.

 

S’ym sucked on his cigar and the tip glowed red, then spoke. _“Rules”?_

 

_“Nothing… permanent. No harm that can’t heal in a day under… were healing conditions. Nothing too… structural to the building. No mental damage. I don’t wish to ever again be offered the filth that he has tried to peddle me. Convince the man… and his ilk. They like pain so… show them pain”._

 

And with a flicker of two light circles Bacchus and S’ym were gone.

 

I noticed my shadow had her gun back out and was aiming it at Illyana. Jean-Claude telepathically whispered to me _(Ma Petite, should we try to intervene)?_

 

I sent back _(Na… let him eat his own cooking for a bit. We’ll ask her to go easy once we’re in private… We… must help them I suppose)._

 

Jean-Claude smiled a not very nice smile, he so had cause to dislike and fear Narcissus. _(As you wish Ma Petite)._

 

Hmm, don’t think people are going to be quite so… rude to her in the future. Or publicly invite her to do… well those kinds of things without first finding out her… opinion on such things.

 

We needed to have her go easily on them… Heck! Bad cop… good cop. She’d just played the heavy and we got to be the good guys. Which would elevate everybody’s opinion of our ability to… manager her. While… possible not being actually true at all.

 

Ok, her political skills are obviously first rate.

 

Now… just who the heck is S’ym?


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a while since I’ve done much Mother of Darkness writing, been writing other things like Tag I’m It, What to do about Magik, and some other minor stories. I plan to focus on Mother of all Darkness for awhile (apart from LordGrise prompting me for some additional Pride, Prejudice, Zombies and Illyana chapters in return for proofreading).
> 
> As always much review and critique by LordGrise, and input as well as he helps craft my sometimes clumsily wording into better prose. In our various correspondences LordGrise has been the first to come to the realization that Illyana actually had her soul the entire time (something that I’ve dropped hints of in much of my writing. Yea! Somebody finally commented upon it or figured it out). This will be a topic for additional writing in this storyline.

How is that possible you ask? Go to the New X-Men issue where Illyana encounters her brother again when she’s about to go on a giant soul energy stealing binge. Just look her expressions (shame, loss, hurt, realization of love for her and for her brother, of comprehension of what she once was, of what she has been reduced to), and just examine the sudden change in decisions she makes. My take, and my stories, are that she has been driven insane, has stroke like brain damage on her emotional centers, and is unable to properly interpret her sensory inputs or make correct decisions about most emotional things, all of which is not understood by the X-Men as her mental shields prevent any telepaths from seeing just how damaged she truly is. Plus she has a screaming subconscious voice in her head constantly telling her that **(YOU ARE NOT HER)** which comes from the abuse Belasco did to her after his attempt to summon her resulted in her being re-embodied in the demonic form she died in rather then the blond toy he was so desirous of.

 

Bastard got exactly what he wanted, and then proceeded to destroy her in every possible way.

 

() denotes mental communication.

 

 

**Part 13a: Greet and Meat (part e)**

And I guess that was it for her speech. She turned to the crowd and… and the darkness started to fade at the edges. Like it was being drawn back into her. As it withdrew, the walls and ceiling came into view, and the misbehaving shadows vanished. And my ability to see auras around people vanished as well.

 

As the darkness appeared to draw into her, her form shifted into her blond female human form dressed in that very tight full body spandex getup she wears, deep blue with the stylized yellow X and the yellow boots and gloves. Not a zipper in sight on that getup, can’t help but wonder how the hell she gets in it.

 

 _(Polystable molecular weave)_ Was her mental whisper, along with an embarrassingly sensual impression of what it felt like sliding over her breasts. _(It's amazingly stretchy, and quite silken in texture. Never binds at all and wonderfully supportive while still being firm in all the right places; and is very resistant to harm. Think thin stretchy Kevlar; able to resist all kinds of attacks)._ Well that was helpful information, I also surmised that she was likely commando as there were no panty or bra lines that I could see.

 

And as the last of the darkness withdrew the form of the darkness was finally discernable, and as I feared, it was the shadow of a dragon with outstretched wings. Once that was done she stepped down from the dais and made for the open bar, and everybody got out of her way. I found the look of panic in the bartender’s face, he was a werehyena, to be rather funny (yea, I have a mean sense of humor).

 

Meanwhile, the most senior werehyena guard present was making a beeline right for Asher, which made sense as hyena is Asher’s animal to call. Bet the guard was going to to plead for Narcissus.

 

Asher sent a telepathic prompt, apparently being bound to Illyana now gave all of us the ability to send thoughts to each other, sure beats texting. _(How… receptive should I be?)_ was his thought.

 

 _(Open but… stern is my suggestion)_ sent Jean-Claude _. (We said no gifts. Narcissus has stuck much more then his foot in it)._

 

 _(Treaties)._ Sent Micah _. (The vampires have a treaty with Narcissus, as do the wolves. Not to mention that they are also members of the lycanthrope coalition. We can't just cut him or them loose)._

 

 _(Gah. So we need to help the annoying antagonistic sadistic little shit)._ Grumbled Richard on the link, he was not a fan of Narcissus or his… hobbies.

 

It was pretty much a party line at this point. Funny though, I could tell Illyana was blocking any communication with her but… I wondered if that meant she could still listen in? Bet she could and that she was. Hell, I would, so very… sneaky. Hell, I wished I knew how.

 

The guard reached Asher, he went by the name Dalliance , and as expected began to quietly plead for forbearance. Asher adopted a stern look and made some acknowledgements while pointing out that Narcissus had massively screwed up and had disrespected him, Jean-Claude, and apparently had made her an offer that went way beyond being rude. As this took place I quickly mentally laid out my good cop/bad cop theory. Everybody agreed with it and felt that it was promising as to our ability to supposedly intervene.

 

 _(Agree to intervene but extract a promise of a favor in Narcissus’s name. If this does not cost him, he will not value it. He must… remember such things)._ Prompted Jean-Claude.

 

I glanced at the crowd. The wolves were in conversation with the Pard and the lions were already… gone. Guess Ōyutaka had already led them out in search of sushi and booze, I suspected that they were in for a long night. I noticed that Meng Die was chatting up the Master of Cairo and appeared to be liking what she both heard and saw, I’d bet a dollar that that they’d be making the beast with two backs before the night was done…

 

At this point I noticed that the wererats, Raphael, Fredo, and Claudine were approaching Illyana. She’d gotten her drink from the bar, and two not so little pigs in a blanket appetizers, and was also surveying the crowd with her back now turned to the bar.

 

Ut-oh, something was up. I hurried over to the bar without trying to look like I was hurrying, which of course implied that I was hurrying... Illyana had a cup with ice and what looked like Coke and was eating one of the pigs in a blanket. I caught the end of a statement from Raphael the wererat king.

 

_“… greet you in the name of the Rodere. I have been told you are familiar with the use of the blade”._

 

Illyana eyed them as she swallowed and then took a sip of her drink. _“I am”._

 

Raphael replied. _“Might I… extend the offer of Fredo to… spar with you if you are in want of a sparing partner? He is the best of us weres when it comes to the arts of the blade”._

 

Smooth. Not a gift. Just an offer if she was interested in that kind of thing. And yea he really was the best of all of us mortals. The vampires Wicked and Truth were better, but heck, they were vastly older in age, but Fredo was the one always teaching classes on blade work.

 

She stared at the three Rodere and I thought I saw a flicker of color around them, then she replied. _“I accept. I could use more practice”._

 

Fredo prompted. _“Tomorrow if the lady is so inclined”?_ My my, so polite.

 

All the politeness apparently prompted an actual grin from her. _“The lady is so inclined. I believe I shall be working during the day so… tomorrow, 6:30pm in the gym here unless something comes up”?_

 

That met with approval and the Rodere bowed and backed away.

 

Okay, that went well. And a lesson to the other groups. She’s approachable and rational but… don’t be stupid. And showed yet again she knew our layout.

 

Illyana turned to apparently say something to me but she shut her mouth as both Richard and Micah suddenly loomed behind me. Richard and Micah exchanged glances, then Micah spoke first.

 

_“The Blood drinkers Pard wishes to properly welcome its new member. Normally this is done on the night of the full moon but the Lukoi has claim upon you as well. Richard and I have reached an agreement in that, if it meets with your approval”._

Now Richard spoke. _“The Pard requests your presence at a barbeque at Anita’s house tomorrow night, call it 8pm. Then the following night, the night of the full moon, your presence is requested at the gathering of the Throonos Rokke Clan”._

 

Well… nice to have my house volunteered without discussion. But it was as good an arrangement, as might be reasonably made, and I found my flash of irritation fading as I considered the matter. Still, they were both going to hear from me about due discussion before making commitments. Even as I thought it, I felt their embarrassment and unspoken apology. Hah. Bountiful foot and back rubs galore will be mine, and maybe… some other enjoyments as well.

 

She at first had a look of puzzlement as they spoke but then she froze as I thought upon potential naughtyness . And that’s when I felt the panic. Not my own. Her’s. It was leaking thought our link, though not that you could see it in her body language. She stared at us and it looked like she didn’t have the foggiest idea on what to do.

 

She actually hesitated. _“Um… I… umm…”._

 

I sent a telepathic text as it were _(It’s not a sex thing)._ I could see how she might… be concerned about that. Interestingly the panic only slightly subsided.

 

She took a long drink of her Coke, then closed her eyes briefly before opening them and replying.

 

_“I accept”._

 

Weird. We were about to go converse with the council and not even a hint of a sliver of hint of concern about that from her, but a request to attend a barbeque and a party causes her to panic? Major clue about something or some things.

 

Also a potentially major Achilles Heel where certain Council members were concerned...

 

 

**Part 13b: Meanwhile…**

 

 _“Things… are off track”._ Muttered male voice number one.

 

 _“Talk about the understatement of the year…”._ Grumbled male voice number two.

 

 _“Miss Blake was supported to be dead at this point”._ Complained high pitched female voice number one.

 

 _“And so was the head vampire of St. Louis”._ Grumbled back male voice number two.

 

 _“His death was always a stretch goal at this point. We have no way of knowing what will actually happen upon Miss Blake’s death. Many vampires survive the death of their servants”._ Points out male voice number one

 

 _“And many don’t”._ Injected the high pitched female voice number one.

 

 _“Stop bleating about damned broken eggs”._ Observes a new male voice, one with a Russian accent, call him male voice three. _“And start bleating about why magic has gone… strange In St. Louis”._

_“We have reports that Miss Blake and Childe did not meet alone, but instead met with all of Miss Blake’s significant others beneath the circus. And there is much discussion about the… effects of last night’s event upon the werewolves, vampires, and we think the wereleopards. That is likely why magic is… odd”._ States the male voice number one. _“Of course most of us are not in that locality so we lack any first hand experiences”._

 

 _“Similar effects on weres and vampires have been noted when a head were is fed upon and through them all that they control, but never magic going odd”._ Contributes male voice number two. _“For example, when Marshal Blake fed upon the Swain King. But… this feeding was likely… not from Marshal Blake. Therefore they must have been side affects of Childe feeding. I thought she wasn’t supposed to be able to do so”?_

_“Not just feedings. There were Bindings, as well”._ Complains a new female voice. She sounds old, she gives forth a dry cough before continuing. Call her female voice number two. _“The signs are obvious, even discounting the gossip sweeping the St. Louis were and vampire community that our agents have picked up”._

 

 _“And likely bindings”._ Agrees male voice number one. _“But one wonders just what… kind of bindings”?_

 

 _“We know she lives as she called in sick”._ States yet another older sounding male voice (Male number four). His voice sounds like it is from a telephone speaker and not actually present. _“But we have no details. And yes… magic is… odd at times. Like milk that you do not know if it is spoiled or not. I actually witnessed our dog’s shadow chase our cat for a minute”._

 

 _“If she shows up to work tomorrow then we should be able to get a close look at her”._ States male voice number two. _“And some or all of the others as well. Hopefully Mr. Zimmerman will return to work as well. And... some of the others will resurface in public”._

_“She is blind to us… but not to our agents. Yet care must be taken_ ”. States male voice number four.

 

The first male voice replies. _“Yes yes, Nathan, we know of your concerns in this regard, you have voiced it countless times. Care will continue to be taken. She cannot learn details from someone who simply does not know any details. Her… involvement with RPIT was… unexpected. But does create the opportunity for… educated close observation”._

 

 _“That it does”._ States male voice number four with a grudging tone.

 

First male voice. _“Your… agents will continue to be in the dark as to the why of our interest or even as to our existence. Even if the demon were to realize the observation, she will not be able to extract from our observers what is not known”._

 

 _“We all knew that binding such a demon and killing all of the blood suckers wasn’t going to be easy”._ States the Russian male voice. _“I still maintain that Miss Blake must be removed, permanently removed”._

There was a brief burst of agreement from all parties, although the second male voice was somewhat reluctant in his agreement.

 

The Russian voice states the consensus. _“Da then, it is agreed. More… extreme measures must be taken to remove Miss Blake from the master equation. Her continued presence unbalances… things. If she still lives then I wager the next harmonics reading will continue to show her exaggerated influence upon what we are working to craft. I shall see to it”._

 

 _“No pussyfooting around this time”._ States male voice number four. _“She is heavily guarded so hit her with everything you’ve got”._

_“Da… I will pass on that exact direction”._ Agrees the Russian voice. _“Collateral damage is approved”?_

 

Again there was consensus. Approved. There is a brief dial tone as male voice number four hangs up.

 

 _“Anybody care to join me for supper”?_ Asks male voice number one.

 

 _“More meat I assume”._ Disdainfully speaks female voice number two.

 

 _“That would be a big Moooo”._ Replied male voice number one with amusement.

 

 _“Then count me out, eating meat is very unhealthy”._ Sniffs female voice number two.

 

 _“My kind dislikes such food”._ Replied female voice number one.

 

 _“Regrettably I have much to do”._ Stated the Russian sounding male voice. _“Much needs to be arranged”._

 

 _“Well, count me in”._ States male voice number two. _“I love a good steak”._

**Part 13c: Greet and Meat (part f)**

And now we were all just standing around being uncomfortable. Thankfully Jean-Claude and Asher choose that moment to approach with a small posse of vampires (Willie, Primo, Valentina, Bartolome, and some other vampire I’d never seen) trailing in their wake.

 

Valentina and Bartolome didn’t appear to be paying much attention, instead they were focused on each other. I assumed they were communicating mind to mind as I’ve seen them have that look slightly distant look before. More then a few master class vampires are able to do that and Valentina was most certainly master class for all her childish size and pretended behavior.

 

Asher spoke first, with his voice in its usual seductive tone. _“Illyana, we would ask a favor of you”._

 

As expected, here’s the windup, the pitch…

 

_“We beg forbearance upon the Hyenas and Narcissus”._

 

Something far too intense to be merely labeled irritation flashed down the link from her for just a moment... A black angry howling of despair, pain, hurt, and suffering. And then it was the ruthlessly cut off. Yet not the slightest change in her body language.

 

I reflected for a picosecond that she should have been expecting this... And then I realized that she had, and what I had felt was undesired leakage. Not good, that meant trouble. Narcissus had clearly hit quite a nerve with her, and I suspected she was not in any mood to play good cop/ bad cop.

 

I could just so tell that every person in the room was straining to hear what she said next.

 

She attempted to make light of it. She really did. _“Let me guess… S’ym and the Hyenas…”_. She paused, and then she actually slightly giggled for a moment. _“Sounds like a good name for a band, reminds me of the time…”._

Suddenly the air went icy cold as the temperature must have dropped thirty degrees or more and her expression froze as a well, and her tone went icy. _“I loathe what was offered me. Likewise… people who offer me the opportunity to participate in such acts. What would you do Jean-Claude if such an offer was made it you… especially after what you have experienced in the past. At the hands of others, and at Narcissus’s own hands”._

Jean-Claude answered steadily _. “Ensure that the offer was never made again if I had the power to make it so”._

_“Exactly”._ She purred in reply, then she clearly enunciated. _“ **I. DON’T. DO. THAT.** **Not Now** … Not ever. Ask the Master of Cairo what happened to those who practiced such vices on the helpless”_. She turned back to the bartender for a refill.

 

Jean-Claude replied to her back. _“And I would make sure that any mercy I showed had a price”._

She did not reply at first. Just got a refill of her Coke, ate the second pig in a blanket, drank some of her Coke, then turned back. _“They have nothing I value or hold to be of worth”._ Definite bad cop.

 

She gestured with her left hand and suddenly there was some kind of soundless hologram like display projected upwards from the palm of her hand. It showed Narcissus’s bedroom that was on the second floor of the club, back in the private areas (yea I’ve been there and no, not for sex). The bed was smashed. Everything in the room was smashed. Various bodies were strewn about and S’ym was doing something very unpleasant with a knife to a figure that was crucified to a wall. And yea… the crucified figure was Narcissus. Narcissus may swing both sides of Sado Masochism, but he was clearly way beyond any possible enjoyment.

 

S’ym looked hurt as there were various bleeding cuts and a few honest to God bullet holes in him, not that he appeared to mind. And he was still smoking that stubby cigar. The hologram flickered and vanished leaving just her with a very satisfied look.

 

Crap… she apparently knew that Narcissus has tortured Jean-Claude in the past when the former Master of the City had given him to Narcissus to play with. And not the safe word kind of bondage play. Jean-Claude had rightfully feared for not only his life, but just what kind of damage Narcissus might do. Jean-Claude does not talk of those times but there was a small secret part of me that really wanted to hurt Narcissus… exactly what Illyana was having done. Oh shit…

 

Asher injected _“But others do. I… ask this of you”._

Micah jointed in as well. _“Illyana please don’t destroy what we have… what I have struggled to build”._

I simply mentally sent _(Please)._

She looked at Asher, then at Jean-Claude, Micah, me, and then back to Asher. _“You… ask this of me? Do you all truly wish this”?_

We nodded. I noticed the emphases on ask; bet everybody did. I didn't want to; Narcissus was not our friend, for all that he was supposedly an ally. But if we didn't do this then a lot more of our treaties and arrangements would become shaky, and much of Micah's work would be at risk. And… revenge suddenly didn’t feel so sweet.

 

She actually growled a bit as she scowled, then she replied. _“As you wish”._ She gestured at the bartender.

 

 _“My Lady”?_ He asked. Guess he’d decided to copy the Rats. Smart move on his part.

 

 _“Give this to S’ym”._ Suddenly there was a little envelope in her hand, sealed with blood red wax and some indiscernible impression in the wax. _“The faster you get there, the faster his acts are… mitigated”._

 

The bartender took the envelope and looked pleadingly at Asher and Jean-Claude. Jean-Claude gestured. _“Go to Narcissus, and remind him that we are owed for this. The envelope is not to be given to this S’ym until Narcissus agrees. If Narcissus is unable to respond then give it as well, but then we consider Narcissus bound to whatever future favor we decide”._

We watched the guard franticly ran off as Illyana drank the remainder of her Coke.

 

Okay… that was a rather impressive good cop bad cop routine. And one that firmly reminded everybody as to her Alpha status. Very effective dominance demonstration, and yet she did as we asked so… effective at many levels, including us.

 

I said the first thing I could think of that might refocus her. _“Council time”?_

 

Which earned me an irritated frown from her and an _“Oui my petite”_ From Jean-Claude with also giving one of his Gaelic shrugs. _“Oui”._

 

 

**Part 13d: Welcome to the Jungle, we’ve got fun and games!**

Not everybody was going to the council meeting. Just Jean-Claude, Illyana, the small posse of vampires, and little o’ll me. Rather surprised that I was going to be there but apparently that was Illyana’s decision. The others were back at what was left of the winding down meet and great.

 

The three of us were walking down a long corridor that was far from the areas I’d been to. Illyana in the lead, then Jean-Claude and I walking side by side, being followed by the little vampire posse as they were apparently needed. As we walked Illyana was slowly shifting back to the demon form she’d first appeared with. Back to the white blouse with the silver shoulders with spikes, tiny silver skulls in her hair, white gloves, those dainty horns, red high heel boots, but no tail. Guess she was getting her game face on.

 

Jean-Claude explained to me why we had the vampire hangers on. _“The council will use their forms to manifest, as Bella Morte has done before. Of course the Traveler will simply occupy a body, in this case Willie as he has served as a host before. The Traveler promises to take no advantages of Willie this time”._

 

Which elicited a nervous laugh from Willie, which I certainly understood. The Traveler had sexual tastes that Willie did not share in the slightest.

 

Nathaniel sent a thought on the link to us all ( _Do you do that a lot Illyana)?_

 

If she noted the sexual undertones of his question, she ignored them and gave him a completely bald answer. _(What, abuse others? Make them suffer for my enjoyment? The former, yes… but only as needed. The latter, almost never ever. I dislike torture.)_

He was persistent. _(But you have done it)?_

A feeling of… loss from her. _(Yes… I learned well from my… instructors)._

Damn… I had a mental image of sick bastards instructing her on just how to hurt others. Probably started with small animals and had her work her way up from there.

_(No… it was not like that)._ She sent, along with a hint of… old pain and despair. _(I learned by being the recipient)._

I sent. _(Oh… crap. Belasco I assume)._

_(How… old were you)?_ Sent Nathaniel. Any flavoring of lust from him was now drowned in something between embarrassment and shame. Nathaniel had been horrendously abused as a child as well and had run away at age nine to live on the streets where he was abused as well.

 

_(Belasco … and S’ym. I think I was… nine-ish when it started? Belasco used to have S’ym punish me when I was bad or disappointed him in some way. Sometimes even just to prove that he could, that I was… powerless in all things. If you don’t have power then you’re just a victim)._

Richard sent a shocked thought. _(And you keep S’ym around)?_

_(Sigh… it’s complicated. Let's just say S'ym is an entailment of Limbo. I did eviscerate him when finally I finally achieved the power to do so... but I later found that he had survived it. In order to get him under control, I took his oath in exchange for his life.)_ Ugly overtones of rage and hate, and a certain sense of satisfaction, suffused what she sent next. _(Then there's what I did to that evil bitch the Enchantress, in repayment for what she so enjoyed doing to me.)_

 

Suddenly we were in the midst of a memory cascade from - somewhere in Illyana's past...

_How many days have I hung here?_

_Left in darkness_

_The heat sucked from my body_

_Bleeding, hurt unending_

_Famished, parched_

_The feel and smell of my own filth_

_Random injuries_

_Malicious torture_

_Bound here undying and unhealing_

_All the while my enslaved darker self hunts my friends_

_I would cry, but that would be giving in to Her_

_I cling to the hate and endure_

**Then…**

_I've sent the New Mutants back to Asgard_

_Then I visit my guest_

_Mistake_

_I should have kept Dani or Karma around_

_All of me is filled with rage, hate, lust for revenge_

_Delayed reaction from the trauma leaves me trembling_

_She mistakes it for fear_

_She taunts me_

_Calls me weak_

_Threatens to kill me and mine when She is free_

_Threatens to do it **all** over again_

_She is wicked and evil_

_I lose control_

_I bind Her to Her version wall_

_I show Her what evil is_

_I teach Her the depths of my displeasure_

_She threatens for a little while_

_She begs for some small amount of time_

_She screams for a long long time_

_Until I tire of the noise and cut out those parts of Her that can scream_

_Then I keep cutting_

_Godlings are hard to kill, but only my magics keeps Her alive_

_Keeps Her conscious all the while_

_It does not keep Her sane_

_After a long time I finally stop, only to find myself drenched in blood_

_Her blood_

_Her eviscerated body still lives_

_If you can call what little remains a body_

_Her eye, for one is missing, is filled with madness_

_S'ym gloats in the corner (Didn't think you had it in you boss babe)_

_I look upon my work in horror_

_I…_

 

The trip down memory lane slams shut like somebody slamming a door and nailing it shut. And I could feel her self disgust as well. All that was left was a \ lingering smoky chuckle of a memory with the voice of S’ym. _(Glad ta see you're getting the hang of it Boss. If someone displeases You, they pay.)_

 

 _(That’s monstrous)!_ Sends Richard in a tone of revulsion and disgust.

 

That's my very, very ex. Richard always knows just the wrong thing to say to a woman to make her feel extra bad about herself. He’s called me a monster more then a few times, heck even once after I had saved his mother’s life… In order to do so I had to torture a man for the information to where some Satanist bastards were holding her and planning on sacrificing her to a demon. I was able to do what had to be done, something I have to point out Richard was unable to do even to save his own mother. I understand his revulsion of my actions… it was monstrous… but… there was no other way. They had cut off one of her finger and sent it to us just to gloat over the horror, and the delivery bastard knew where they where. Well, we saved her… and the bastards who did that to her died. And so did the slime I had to torture. And… what I did to save her rather… hurt me in a way that I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from. Some lines you cross you just don’t get to cross back from.

 

To know just what your are capable of doing.

 

 _(Yes)._ She sends. _(I am)._ Then a tone of exasperated irritation. _(So… why did you want me to do that to him? Next time make up your damn minds)._

_(We)?_ We all sent, some in confusions, some… less so.

_(Yes you. Anita and Jean-Claude were the loudest, hell almost screaming it at me, then Richard, then the rest. You wanted Narcissus to…)._ A sense of confusion from her _(To pay… feel fear… suffer… for him to know what you felt at his hands… to bow… to grovel… bleed... to… it’s all very confusing as you all want different things for different reasons)._

_(I asked for no such thing)._ Sent Jean-Claude.

Her thoughts still felt confused. _(You all wanted it and I felt… )._ Then the confusion vanished, replaced by cold assessment, suppressed anger, and vindictive evil satisfaction as to what Narcissus was undergoing. _(Some of you like what he has to offer… I greatly dislike being made to feel enjoyment in such acts. The links were very open, next time… I’ll check to see if you really want it. He wished that I partake of what he has to offer.   I granted the wish but not his intent. You all fear him and that fear… well… I dislike your fear of him. It… pains me)._

That’s when her devil tail uncoiled into existence and proceeded to lash back and forth in agitation.

 

 _(Could you please refrain from torture from now on)?_ Sent Micah. Ok, that was kind of ballsy, but… I guess he was testing the limits. He did say please. I think we all held our breaths.

 

 _(I’ll take it under advisement)._ Was her chilly, offended reply.

 

Then Micah kept at her. _(We have treaties and agreements Illyana. The Pard with the Lukoi and the Vampires. My work with the lycanthrope coalition. The Lukoi with the Vampires, the Rats, and the Hyenas. The Vampires with the Rats, Wolves and Hyenas. Then there is Anita and her involvement with just about everybody. Those agreements are important and… if we are now yours and yet you are now ours, those were your words, then… those agreements and treaties are yours as well.)_

 

A feeling of almost resignation from her. Micah continued _(I am no rebuking you for Narcissus. That was… very ill-advised of him and in true were social norms you have shown him exactly just how offended you are. How you dealt with Haven and lions was well done as that was just rude of Haven)._

 

Tones of irritation from her. _(He thought me weak… tested to see if I was prey. I showed him I was not… and that he was if I so choose)._

 

Richard chimed in _(Again well done. The Lukoi members are… eager for the night of the full moon now. They greatly respect what you did in showing submission to the pack hierarchy. That… calmed them. Sylvia is greatly relieved)._

 

Micah continued. _(Likewise the Pard, Vivian was… very afraid, she still fears… but… not really you. And the Rats are… impressed. I think they actually like you. Power and competency is always respected)._

 

 _(But check with you before I do… major things here)._ Was her reply.

 

 _(Please)._ They both sent.

 

The feeling on being involuntarily constrained but… grudging acceptance from her. _(I will… try)._

 

And again I privately mused upon how… receptive she was to our… requests, and just what might or must be prompting that.

 

We walked in silence for a few minutes after that. I could feel mental walls rise blocking off everybody but Jean-Claude and I.

 

 _(How many forms to you have)?_ I telepathically sent to her on our link. Rather pleased that she replied.

_(Three that I know of. Human appearance, demon, and dragon. There are many variations between human and demon depending on my moods)._

 

Hmm, human appearance. Nice that she wasn’t playing pretend with me… well us I guess. I wondered if looking human reduced her abilities.

 

 _(It does)._ Was her silent response. Oops, need to try not to leak my own thoughts on the link.

 

 _(And you need me here because)?_ I was understandably nervous as my prior encounters with the Council were very problematic at best.

 

 _(You insisted that I not be alone with any of your men)._ Was her mental reply.

 

Okay… walked right into that. Then she continued.

 

_(Plus… the Council will want to see what has become)._

Yea… what has become.

 

I glanced back at the little group following us. Primo looked his usual arrogant self, Willie was nervously adjusting his tie, Bartolome was trying to look bored but not quite pulling it off; instead he had a suppressed nervous energy. The hereto unknown vampire (his name Burt Russell, so not seeing any vampire wars over that name) looked resigned, and Valentina looked… well she was looking very intense. Like a cat that’s spotted a bird with a broken wing. The bird in this case being Illyana’s back, or maybe it was her tail? Something was up with her and Bartolome and I didn’t have a clue what it was.

 

**Burt Russell (Male)**

Very young vampire. Felt only a decade or so old. Apparently he had been sent to our city to serve as a conduit for this very meeting as he was of the line of Morte D'Amouf (meaning he was a rotting vampire). He looks like a clerk you’d find stamping a passport or something.

 

Then I picked up a sense of unease… I think it was coming from her.

 

 _(Nervous?)_ I sent. Damn, I’m chatty all of a sudden. And… hmmm… so has she.

 

She walked for a few steps before deciding to reply. I felt the link broaden to include Jean-Claude. _(Kind of… it feels like I’m introducing a girlfriend… ok… a girlfriend and six boyfriends to my future in-laws. Rather… odd feeling.)_

 

I wanted to say I wasn’t her girlfriend, but I knew what she was trying to say.

 

 _(The linkages are deep.)_ Commented Jean-Claude _. (And there remains the question as just who… or whom… are the dominant members of the links.)_

 

 _(I am, at least in regards to power. Rather unsure about other aspects of the links.)_ Was her reply.

 

I didn’t want to agree but… she had been easily the most powerful one before so that meant she had to be at the center of the links.

 

I thought upon her answers and then sent _(In-laws?)_

 

 _(How much do you know of the bindings that link the Council members together?)_ She sent to us.

 

 _(Nothing. I wasn't aware there are any.)_ Was my mental reply.

 

 _(Rumors only.)_ Stated Jean-Claude in a cautious tone.

 

 _(In-laws describes it well.)_ Was her reply. _(The actual details are secret and only known to council members… and those they invite to join.)_

 

 _(So no chance of us being informed then.)_ I stated.

 

_(Incorrect. You are… we… are bound. You will all be playing a part if I join the Council. All of the servants of Council members who have servants… know. I shall summarize.)_

 

And then she shared knowledge as I guess I just knew… I understood and also knew that I could only share the knowledge with the other members of… well her circle as it were.

 

Turns out that joining the Council is rather like a marriage. Nothing physical unless the members wish it but… it was a type of binding. A council member was not able to harm another council member. And that applied to each other's servants as well.

 

And I don’t mean not supposed to harm, I mean unable to harm. Blood was involved, of course. It always is in the major vampire workings.

 

An interesting fringe benefit of this was that after this none of the council members, or their bounded servants, could come after me or mine. Of course, the opposite applied as well.

 

 _(Why the heck to you even want to join)?_ I sent.

 

_(Allies… I need… Allies. To help search out what is being done to me. I am… blind. That is deliberate by whomever is doing that. With the resources of the Council I should be able to locate them. And… the rituals will alter me. I think in such a way that should prevent additional changes by those who are casting whatever the hells they are doing to me; at least for a while)._

 

That made sense, but there had to be more to it. Hmmm… Need a better description for us then her circle… The phrase the Magik Seven came to me? Sounded like the classic western Micah and I had watched last week on Pard movie night at my house.

 

We finally came to the end of the long and winding corridor. It opened into a rather impressive cavern that was hung with lights, several old art deco looking chandeliers. The stone floor was flat and clean, but the air had dusty tang to it as if it has been freshly cleaned.

 

 _“This used to be a speakeasy back in the day”._ Commented Jean-Claude. _“It has not been used in quite some time”._

_“It suffices”._ Stated Illyana. _(It is private for both the council, and our other business afterwards)._


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vampire Council. Ohhh… I wonder just what’s going happen. I’ve been writing more then my publishing pace might indicate, but the content is in later chapters. And as always a shout out to LordGrise for both his reviews, his input and his ideas on a various scenes, plus massive rewrites of part 14d.
> 
> A reminder about the timeline of this story, chapters one and two are Illyana in the X-Brig after killing the Elder gods and regaining her soul (but still very mentally messed up, and in fact likely getting worse). The remaining chapters are pre launch of the New Mutant comics as it takes placed on Illyana’s journey (remember, story within a story); and is the sequel to my first Anita Blake/Illyana story called Snowflake’s Passage (Scary things), and the end takes place… well… you’ll just have to read the entire story to find that out.
> 
> Yes this is taking longer to write then I planned, hope you’re enjoying the end product, if so then write a review. If not then, write a review as well and explain why.

**Part 14a: Welcome to the Jungle, We got everything you want, Honey, we know the names**

 

So you might think that it’s some massive magic ritual to summon the council? Mystic sequences with fiery pentagrams, the blood of a dead goat, screaming enchantments spoken in dead languages, and of course a fight scene. Well, naaaa… Decidedly anticlimactic.

 

All of the power for the summoning was actually coming from the council members as they each manifested in different ways. Several of the council vampires are able to make use of vampires of their blood lines as conduits. This was true for the Dragon, Morte D'Amour, and Belle Morte. The Traveler could just throw his consciousness into most vampire bodies. That just left the Master of Beasts, who was the weakest member of the council as he apparently lacked that extra vampire pazazz to manifest other then being physically present; but apparently he’d now found a way to do what all the other cool council members were doing.

 

We’d gathered in a circle, roughly at hands length. Jean-Claude and I were behind Illyana, behind her shoulders. To her left was Willie McCoy who was to be the Traveler’s host, then proceeding counter clockwise was the Bert who was to host Morte D'Amour , then Valerian for Belle Morte , then Bartolome for vampire Padma (Master of Beasts), then to her right Primo serving to conduct his former mistress, the Dragon. Wondered if the order meant anything, I’d bet it denoted how they were already interacting with Illyana. Rather nice that Padma and Belle Morte were roughly as far away from us as possible.

 

As we setup I noticed that the room was growing colder. Not sure if it was an actual temperature drop, or just what felt like mists of evil and malice that was beginning to radiate from her. Either way it was getting creepy. No weird shadow play as of yet, but… I’d swear there were things just out of sight and for a second I though I heard… ragtime music?

 

 _“How do we know that they’re not already here?”_ Was my whispered comment to Jean-Claude. Illyana answered.

 

_“Because it would be rude, and a violation of the agreements that have already been reached between me and the council. Plus… I would know and such knowing would make me… upset at the offenders. One’s word means something with one such as I, regardless of the worth the giver may hold it.”_

Yea… demon. In the films it’s always a contract in blood but… Ah crap… Blood. Been there and apparently had already kind of done that. I asked another question. Rather sure I knew the answer.

 

_“How will they know that it’s okay for them to manifest?”_

 

 _“Because I will tell them.”_ Was her reply.

 

Thankfully Jean-Claude commented upon the almost perceived manifestations that played in the corners of our eyes. _“Illyana… things are flickering in our perceptions as if they are almost present but vanish if one attempts to gaze upon them, and… there are snippets of sound. It is if ghostly impressions of the old speakeasy that once was here, are manifesting. Is that of your doing?”_

 

She innocuously replied. _“Manifestations of power.”_ But sent mentally _. (I’m… not quite sure. Before I was bound in this world, demons can not summon other demons or the dead, but now… now I…. or… it might be Anita… or both of us… but… Shards, I appear to suddenly be inadvertently attracting such things due to my expressing power for this meeting. Before, when I raised Khufu, I needed to use Anita as my instrument, but now… I’ve been changed and I wonder just what… limits have been removed and if that removal was planned or… accidental. Do not speak aloud of it.)_

I sent _(So you’re not deliberately doing it. Consequence of our links?)_ Damn, for a second I thought I saw a… dance going on? An old-time ballroom kind of dance, like from the twenties.

 

Jean-Claude added his input. _(Likely ma petite. The blending of abilities. Those you sleep with have been known to grow in power. Perhaps your necromancer influence upon Illyana?)_

Yea… that’s me. The sexual energizer bunny. A rather irritating ability in that many now wished to share my bed, or send people to my bed in the hope of a power bump after a power grind I suppose. Others actually feared sleeping with me.

 

 _(My influence?)_ I sent as I noticed the others also looking at things out of the corners of their eyes. The… phantasms vanished if you stared directly at them. And they weren’t ghosts… no sense of a presence… just… images and sometimes sound.

 

An apprising reply from her and a very unpleasant bit of knowledge that yet again she knew way more about me, and likely us, then was safe. _(Yes yours… Do you not ward the zombies that you raise to prevent entities that seek a body from inhabiting the zombie? Plus your ability as a Necromancer was first truly shown when you slew two of Mr. Gaynor’s bodyguards in your circle of power when he attempted to force you to commit human sacrifice of another. You raised a vast multitude of zombies from the cemetery and slew both Mr. Gaynor and what was her name… ahh the Senorita I think she was called.)_

_(No comment.)_ I sent back.

 

Crap she knew. Death sentence for me if it was ever proven. Killing in self defense by magic is an automatic death sentence. No appeal, no leniency. People suspected that I had a hand in it… but only suspected as there was no proof. Only Jean-Claude truly knew and… bet that was how she knew, back when she mind rolled him the first time she came here.

 

She sent _(Sorry… forgot the dire consequences for those who defend themselves using magic… and yes I felt your mental turmoil over my statement.)_

 

Jean-Claude inquired. _(How much of our minds can you sense?)_

_(With the links open this wide and my having to not block the two of you because… well you’ll see, way more then I desire. Very… distracting. And no I don’t usually like having a tail. It has its uses but… reminds me that I am not as I wish to be, and tends to be off putting for almost everybody.)_

Opps, guess she’d caught that thought as well. And kind of a wow on the concept of a body shamed demon. Just another part of the wide wonderful world of female experience, never even thought that female demons get that kind of crap as well. I tend to get grief about the scars on my arms and shoulder, not to mention my belly. Like there’s something wrong with me for surviving vicious attacks. That and attempts at slut shaming that I get from some people (and even vampires)… sigh… Like I want to be a sexual living vampire.

 

I sent. _(Valentina and Bartolome appear to be greatly interested in you.)_

_(Yes…)_ Was her musing reply. _(I am rather curious as to the reason for their attraction.)_

_“It is time.”_ Illyana verbally announced. And then it was like I heard the bong of some large bell. A ringing clear tone. The others all stiffened, and then their body language changed as well.

 

Willie McCoy was the least changed as the Traveler just took possession as if he was slipping on a coat or a comfy pair of slippers. He went from nervous to very relaxed and casually confident as he adjusted his tie. If a vampire could smoke I swear he’d have lit up a cigarette or something. He gave a slight flourished minor bow in our direction as he stated _“Magik, I see you have brought two of your servants. A linkage of seven I sense? Most… extraordinary, and supposedly quite impossible. Yet again I am pleased that the council continues to entertain my suggestion of you joining our ranks. Do… the bar room specters serve any… purpose?”_

Ok. Kind of wondered who’d come up with the idea of her joining. And apparently he could see the specters as well.

 

 _“Greetings Traveler and… No.”_ Was her casual reply. _“The spirits just showed up, I believe the powers being expressed are somewhat moth to a flame for them.”_

A chuckle from the Traveler. _“An example then of magic behaving oddly, we have heard reports of such things since your… coupling.”_

Illyana said nothing, but I felt a flicker of distress from her at the word coupling.

Burt’s transformation was similar to Willie’s as apparently Morte D'Amour just kind of moved in, something that he was able to do only with those who were of his bloodline (a common ability it seems for most master vampires that were at the top of the pyramid power scale as it were). Burt went from resigned to looking smug and I’d have to say, somewhat sleazy. _“She wishes to show off, to emphasis herself, to present her power and abilities. She being the flame of course.”_

And Bella Morte made her appearance rather dramatically as a full size ghostly image of herself overlaid upon Velentina. Her ghostly image was beautiful, pale and yet hinted at dark hair, with eyes the color of dark rich honey promising… Um… Velentina spoke, but we heard Bella Morte’s sensuous voice and I felt things tighten within me. Damn, even her voice could do things to me. To know her is to love her, or so it is said. And as I’d said before, she’d and I had been very intimate that time she’d pulled me into her mindscape.

 

_“Come now Morte D'Amour, she is being honest with us. I find it most refreshing, she knows that we must know some or even all of what has occurred. She presents the results so we might view it first hand. The… specters are rather unique touch. Jean-Claude, was this not Nikolaos’s… bar during those oh so convenient prohibition times?”_

A reply with a nastily tone from Morte D'Amour _“She has taken two… my mistake, three of your favorites I believe. Asher, Jean-Claude, and even the elusive Anita. Not to mention other men that you desire.”_

Bella Morte replied with scorn. _“They are not my favorites, such do not leave me. But Magik… I am pleased to see you take to our ways so… emphatically. Jean-Claude, will you not give answer?”_

Jean-Claude apparently made a silent question of Illyana. She slightly gestured with her right hand while saying. _“You may reply without seeking permission Jean-Claude. Likewise Anita may also speak without prior approval.”_

 

Bitch, I wanted to say something nasty but… I understood what she meant. Inability to control one’s servants was taken as a sign of weakness. Something that… causes Jean-Claude problems from time to time as most ancient vampires don’t even have the concept of free will for servants and I so don’t fit in the servant category. That’s me… uppity.

 

Jean-Claude spoke. _“Yes… this was the site of Nikolaos’s speakeasy. Nikolaos was quite pleased with the operation as it provided way access to prey. She did kill all of the gangsters involved once probation ended as she no longer had any use for them.”_

And now the bastard Padma made his appearance. Bartolome took what looked like a lie rat from his pocket and looked into its eyes. Then said “ _Yes_.”

 

Like the Bella Morte a ghostly image of Padma manifested over Barolome. Less clear then Bella Morte, but definitely him, turban and all. His image’s body language was one of anger and hatred as he stared at me. I’d killed his son, it was either him or his son and he’d chosen his son’s death so he might live. To say that he hated me would not begin to describe his feelings towards me.

 

 _“I hope it is not to flaunt her servants.”_ He spit out the words.

 

 _“Right back at you Padma”._ I replied. One rule I have is to always to get in peoples face when they are being difficult, make them back down. Sometimes it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the amount of fight in the dog. And assholes like Padma always get surprised when the little people mouth off a him.

 

You could see the rage on his face as he opened his mouth to make a reply. But Illyana beat him to it.

 

_“In this time of truce and negotiation I have sworn to make no offense to any of you, or your servants, so likewise did you swear.”_

 

You could see him swallow the words he wished to say as he replied. _“You did not have servants then.”_

 

 _“Irrelevant, we swore.”_ Announced the Dragon from Primo, guess she’d finally shown up. Rather weird hearing a female voice from such a large man. _“Or do you now wish war Padma? If so, I think you might end up standing alone as you will be forsworn upon your oath.”_

 

A scowl was his only reply as he backed down.

 

The Traveler chuckled _. “And yet again things are not as we planned. I propose a new condition, that none of Magik’s servants may join or be a member of the Council so long as Magik is a member of our august body.”_

Wow, apparently they thought that we were now a major threat to their personal positions. Um… not good. Such folks tend to get killed.

 

Before things took a turn for the worse Illyana replied. _“Agreed.”_ The others all nodded and voice their agreement as well. I briefly heard a trumpet playing a jazz tune as if in celebration.

 

Then, from their perspective, Illyana dropped the other shoe. _“Likewise I have a new condition as well due to my changed circumstances. I declare Harm sur vous, la guerre sur moi over St. Louis and all those resident. The wolves, vampires, leopards, they are all mine. Nobody touches what’s mine without permission. It’s bring your own food (BYOF) while you’re here. I will permit negotiations with people for sex, food, blood, but… my rules. Threats and blackmail are not considered negotiations by me. Failure to comply will be met with… punishment.”_

**Part 14b: Welcome to the Jungle, You can have anything you want, But you better not take it from me**

And of course consignation broke out as several of them began to argue. Interestingly it was just the men arguing, both Bella Morte and the Dragon said nothing and just observed the bickering. Likewise we said nothing as well. Illyana’s tail flicked back and forth and as they argued, shadows grew.

 

Padma’s host now cast a shadow that ever changed from one animal to another. Lion, tiger, bear…

 

Morte D’ Amour’s host cast a shadow of a man that kept rotting to just a skeleton and then back to a normal shadow. Heck, it even threw a rotting hand at the Traveler’s shadow at one point.

 

The Traveler’s host cast a shadow of what looked like an old man, bent and crocked, and using a cane; which he used to bat the shadow rotting hand out of the air when Morte D’ Amour’s shadow threw it.

 

Really strange seeing Primo casting a female shadow. You’d have thought somebody called the Dragon would cast an amazons shadow, but no… just what looked like a nondescript woman, apart from a massive battle axe that she kept swinging about from time to time.

 

Valerian, Bella Morte’s host, cast a shadow of Valerian, but kept morphing into Bella Morte and then back again.

 

Jean-Claude’s shadow decided to go dancing and proceeded to twirl off with my shadow. The two of them danced about the walls of the room; I think… I think I saw my shadow flip the bird once to Padma when she was behind his back. Left me feeling rather proud that even my shadow could be a bitch.

 

This time Illyana cast no shadow at all.

 

The shadows had given them brief pause, but then the discussion continued after Padma dismissed the shadow play as _“Feminine theatrics.”_

 

Many words were said, with more then a little hand waving as wel. Both Morte D'Amour and Padma felt that it was completely unacceptable, first Egypt and now St. Louis? What was next? All of North America? The Traveler had reservations, but felt that that the declaration was reasonable considering the new situation. Reasonable assuming that they got something in return. The argument went on for a few minutes. In the end it was summarized by the declaration from Padma that…

 

_“She seeks an empire!”_

 

The Traveler was not buying. _“Ridiculous. If she did then several of us would likely already be dead. You rail because you were planning some entertainment while you visited. Entertainment that you must now ask for, and … likely will not be granted. I advise that you do not bring up the topic.”_

 

_“None of us have such sway. Why should she be granted it?”_

Bella Morte now injected. _“Because she’s in love. And in that we have sway over her that we never had before. Things are at risk and she moves to protect them. She is protecting what her servants value. In so doing she revels herself.”_

 

The bickering felt silent and the all looked at us. Then Bella Morte spoke.

 

_“The bindings are most complex. Anita, Jean-Claude, do you love her?”_

Jean-Claude and I looked at each other, but before we could reply there was a chuckle from Illyana.

 

_“That… is not council business. And very personal as well. I once met some ladies who thought of themselves as angels; they had a saying ‘nothing for nothing’. Such intimate questions have a price. If you wish an answer then I first will have a similarly personal question for each of you, otherwise… mind your own business.”_

 

A few chuckles from the Dragon and the Traveler, but just nasty looks from the others. And a comment from the Traveler.

 

_“I warned you, she plays the game well. Young yes… novice… no.”_

Morte D'Amour spoke. _“We have much to offer her. Resources for those who are plaguing her.”_

_“And she has much that we desire as well.”_ Commented the Dragon. “ _Specifically_ _Marmee Noir.”_

Bella Morte sounded like a cat with a dish of the very best cream before her. _“Our might combined with hers will allow us to… retire the Sweet Dark and then select a new occupant for her seat.”_

Crap, they’re planning on killing Mommie Dearest.  No wonder they want Illyana on the council.

 

And then Illyana added the sugar to the medicine. _“In return for your… acceptance of my demands. I will concede on that point, and swear to never be the head of the council.”_

Silence as they all looked at each other. Then the Dragon spoke. _“You must agree to undertake the responsibility of… punishing those whom you have declared such control over. Otherwise the council’s rulings will have no force.”_

 

Illyana nodded in affirmation after a few seconds. _“I trust my servants will… inform the City’s vampires that though the Harlequin have no jurisdiction here, the councils rulings will stand if I join. The Council, their servants, and those who serve them are welcome starting now; so long as they abide by the rules. If harm is done then I will return the harm two fold to the instigators and compensate the victim.”_ Hmm, nice turn of phrase, applied to everybody equally. Liked the use of the word instigator, bet that makes them think twice of setting up a patsy.

 

Morte D'Amour rebuked her. _“It is not allowed to speak their name unless certain conditions are met.”_ The others all nodded and looked irritated.

 

I swear I could almost hear the smile in Illyana’s voice. _“As declared the Mother of Darkness I would point out. The… enforcers reported to her has head of the council, leaving the enforcers rather unrestrained since she succumbed to her sleep. Enforcers that you wish brought to heel as well. Since my use of the word is of great annoyance to you… so I will forbear using word until such a time as our negations are concluded. If I do join then I will abide by the rules as to the use of their name.”_

Additional demands or conditions were raised by the Council and Illyana. They got agreement from her that she would not take any of the Mother’s servants into her service. The Mother’s Servants were these weird half lycanthrope half vampire creatures that were sleeping. Sometimes one or more would awake and be taking to the service of whatever Council member did the awakening. They agreed to not bring anybody who might be deliberately brought to cause problems. Smart as failure could result in most of their court’s being slaughtered if Illyana felt she had been egregiously harmed, rather liked how she refused to be pinned down on the definition. Our guests would be on their best behaviors, but you just knew that somebody was going to fuck up. I mean… right?

At the end they all looked… well… not satisfied, but done. Our dancing shadows apparently got tired of dancing and returned to being attached to our feet, and then faded away.

 

Illyana concluded. _“Please pass your travel plans and needs to Jean-Claude if you wish us to attend to them. Don’t bring involuntary slaves, they are free the moment they enter the city.”_

That earned us a dirty look from Morte D'Amour and Padma. Great, the council was coming and looked like we needed to provide the bedrooms as well for those who asked.

 

With that they all departed in their own way. Padma vanished as Bartolome dropped what was now a dead and mummified rat. The Traveler, Morte D'Amour, and Dragon just left.

 

Leaving Bella Morte who smiled… then eyes of dark honey filled my mind.

**Part 14c: Welcome to the Jungle, it gets worse here day by day**

Red lips. That’s… what I first noticed.

Stunningly red lips. Just like in the beauty magazines. Moist, gleaming, and the fangs prominently displayed as the mouth that possessed the lips smiled.

 

The body that possessed the delicious lips was curvy and sensuous and taller then I. Dressed in something tight but centuries out of date, with a corset that definitely emphasized the pale bosomly goodness that was on prominent display. I noticed that her feet were bare and the scent of roses filled the air. She’d let her long dark hair down and was staring at me… no… not just me, me and Jean-Claude with a look of attraction and intent.

 

Now I know just what a goldfish feels when a cat just stares into the fishbowl. Crap, we were in Bella Morte’s mindscape. I’d been here a few times before and… damn she looked good. Yummy yummy finger licking good, I wanted to…

 

Damn it, I’m not gay but… Belle is the only woman I’d make an exception for. She’d had me as it were when I was almost dying and she’d brought me into her mind and fed me energy and… yea sex was involved, with Bella sex is always involved. Umm, crap… A sudden recollection of Illyana sucking on my breasts and… it occurred to me that Bella was not the only woman who now did it for me as I felt things clench up.

 

Which re-awoke a fear that I had not yet discussed with anybody. I’m hetro, very hetro, but… It was the general consensus with the guys that my _Ardeur_ was gathering bigger prey as it were as more powerful food was a better feed. And that _Ardeur_ could change you, had changed more then a few of my men… Might… might it have changed me? As food for the _Ardeur_ , Illyana was like a sixty four ounce t-bone steak with every side dish thrown in as a bonus. Might I… might it … damn. Lot of self questions about what my preferences were now. Such questions I resented (which is kind of a standard response from me).

 

Bella was leaning against a giant for poster bed, and when I say giant I don’t mean California king size. Jean-Claude had an enormous bed as well, orgy sized I called it, and… hers is bigger. Cats were her animal to call and I could almost swear she was purring as she looked at us. We were about ten feet from her. The room was rather vague and undefined, just the bed, the floor and ceiling, and a single window that looked upon a dark sky with a full white moon.

 

Needed to remember that this woman had at one time secretly ruled half the countries of Europe for hundreds of years. I tried to contact Illyana mentally but nothing. Like my cry just vanished into a big empty space without even an echo.

 

Jean-Claude protested. _“Bella, this is most inappropriate. We are servants to another and treating a_ _sourde de sang is this way is…”_

_“Hush Jean-Claude. These are… extenuating circumstances. And I’m blocking access to your new toy. And I surprisingly find it easy… almost as if she is now of my line_ …” A grin that found amusement at things that are not nice.

 

Jean-Claude was presenting his cold and emotionless persona, like he always did when there was great danger. Damn, he’d love her once… no… that wasn’t true. He loved her still, just as I did. You love Bella Morte, she never loves you. Bella loved nobody other then Bella.

 

 _“She is not. She is of her own line, if there is such a thing for her.”_ Jean-Claude finished.

**“** _Let us go Bella… please.”_ See, I can say please. _“I’ve seen Illyana angry and this will make her angry and… well…”_ Um… might that not be a bad thing?

Bella just smiled and took a step towards us. _“I just wish some private words and the answers to a few questions. Is that too much to ask after all that I’ve done for you?”_

 

Done to us would be a more accurate way of describing her actions.

 

She took another step and spoke. _“Such… fire I feel in the two of you. Is fire one of the things you received from her? One can’t help but wonder. Linkage of seven, an impossibility and yet… self evident. And the Ardeur sleeps within you two.   Sated in a way that I have never felt before.”_

Yea, another little thing we’d observed. Regular feedings keep it… fed. But when I’d gotten up and tried to feed upon my wake up sex… nothing. Nothing at all.

 

Another step. Rather proud that both Jean-Claude and I held our ground, really wished I had a gun or a knife but no… just my clothing. Apparently her mindscape, her rules. Desire was like a perfume in the air and I just knew that if she touched us then the _Ardeur_ just might awaken and… crap.

****

A warning from me. _“ **Don’t** , she’ll consider it rape and she kills rapists.”_ And then I wondered just how I knew that.

 

 _“Don’t what?”_ She playfully replied as she took yet another step.

_“Try to awaken the Ardeur in us. She was vulnerable and may yet still be. She will totally kill whomever forces her into sex.”_

Bella paused in her progress. _“Why? Was the experience so… unpleasant? For her? For the two of you? I got but a hint from Anita a few moments ago, and a quickening of her pulse. You enjoyed it so very much, and so, I think, did she. Tell me… was she a virgin? Her emanations are as if she is an awakened virgin.”_

Great… of course Bella wanted to talk about sex, likely all the little details about how we’d…

 

The two of our bodies entwined, head to tail as we feasted upon each other’s sex. Once again I was on top. The men joining in as well. I scream into her sex as the pleasure takes me and I feed the _Ardeur_ as if she was a bottomless well of power. She screams back and feeds as well. So do the vampires and I think even the weres somehow participate. We all feed and scream and scream and…

 

Crap, another mental flashback, and a big smile from Bella.

 

 _“So sweet. And she does have such interesting blue eyes, perhaps I should start a female collection as well?”_ Then her tone went a bit snippety. _“But you lack such eyes Anita so… no I think.”_

_“You think to collect her Bella?”_ Asked Jean-Claude in that cold distant tone of his.

_“I tried once, she defeated me but now… you have breached the defensives and I have so much love to offer.”_

_“Lust, not love Bella, lust.”_ Replied Jean-Claude. _“In the end Bella is loved, but Bella does not love. That is why I, Asher,_ _Auggie, and others left. To love so hard and never have it returned… we left rather then endure such torment.”_

And that summed her up, her greatest power was also her blind spot. And of course she got huffy. **_“Nobody leaves Bella Morte!”_**

 

In my quick glances about the room I had noticed a desk behind us. There were some papers and a paperweight upon them. I planned on grabbing the paperweight and using it as a weapon, that and my martial arts training. That’s when I noticed another scent had intruded upon the aroma of roses.

 

A hint of jasmine!

 

The others noticed the scent just as I did.

 

 ** _“Sweat Darkness!”_** Warned Jean-Claude while Bella blurted out. **_“Marmee Noir!”_** And I cried out. ** _“Crap, it’s Mommie Dearest!”_**

****

Then darkness erupted from the window and enveloped us all.

 

 

**Part 14d: Learn to live like an animal. In the jungle where we play**

The scent of jasmine, thick in the air, strangling the scent of roses like a python with a mouse. The smell of rain on the air, as if it is just about to rain. Scattered fireflies flashing little twinkling of light in the cool dark. Quiet jungle sounds of insects and birds.

 

We were in a nighttime jungle, there were some small flickers of moonlight reaching the jungle floor through the foliage of the trees above; but only enough to accent just how deep the darkness really was. We, Jean-Claude, Bella, and I, were also now naked as the day we were born. Before us was an equally nude Marmee Noir. Female, slim, pale as the moon, long black hair that looked blacker then the night itself, that’s all I can recall. I can say nothing as to what kind of woman she looked like other then she had cat green eyes that reflected the light.

 

Bella, for all her faults (conceit, self pride, arrogance, the list is long), was human as it were; at least in comparison. But Marmee Noir, she was as pure a psychopath as you get. Distilled and aged over so many millennia that it was doubtful she was actually Homo Sapiens originally; or even ever really human. Only Marmee Noir mattered, everything else was us prey at best (yea… at best, at worst… I did mention psychopath.)

 

We were now in Marmee Noir’s mindscape. Bella’s little power play had dramatically gone wrong for her, but more importantly, it had really gone wrong for Jean-Claude and I.

 

And apparently Bella was having a massively bad hair day as it were. Her form was thin with but a small bust, plain for form and face, and her hair lacked… well, it was short, dull and looked brittle. I wondered if this was what she really looked like or… if this was what she had once looked like.

Jean-Claude and I went back to back practically automatically. First rule with an ambush predator is never give it your back. To my surprise Bella joined us as well, this left Jean-Claude and I partially facing Mommie Dearest while Bella faced away. That spoke volumes about Belle's mindset: We were her natural allies in this. She trusted us to not let her be blindsided, and she was doing the same for us.

 

That thought started a domino chain falling in my head. Belle was a freaking Council member, and this was how it was? She was hiding behind us? I felt helpless because, well… how do you fight the night? My weapons weren't even here, this was a mindscape, Marmee Noir’s mindscape. She was the primordial dark make flesh. She was why humans feared the dark, the very darkness itself, not what lies concealed within the darkness. There was a time she walked amongst us and fed; and when darkness falls, somewhere in the back of our minds, we remember the hungry dark and are afraid. I was helpless, just another tiny, hairless monkey, just meat for the slaughter...

 

And that lit my burners. That last thought wasn't mine, it was hers, and it was a lie. I focused, struggled against some unseen weight that somehow defined us, restricted us, condemned us… and it was if my rage found fuel as I felt something metaphysical crack as my power flared. A circle blazed up around us, silver and blue flames flickering and defining a space I claimed as my own. The oppression of night humidity in a jungle and the smell of jasmine cut off, and we were free to define ourselves again. And neither I, Jean-Claude, or apparently Bella, ever went unarmed in enemy territory.

 

Jean-Claude went old-school, of course, his garb and weapons straight out of the Renaissance: period aristocratic garb, complete with a rapier and a matching main-gauche dagger. There was a monster of a muzzle loader holstered at his side: It looked like a lupara (sawed off shotgun). I went with my vampire hunter rig, pistols and blades in all the right spots. Bella… Bella was dressed in plain ancient Roman looking garb, she d had a Roman short sword at her side but was principally armed with a heavy spear, like a boar spear but shorter, braced under her foot to receive a charge.

 

Marmme Noir spoke and it was if the darkness that surrounded us gave voice. _“You seek to end me Bella… Take my place… as if a child such as you can understand the ocean that is I. You mush be punished and there is only one penalty.”_ Then, I suppose, she addressed Jean-Claude and I. _“A new servant and my new host. It is time Anita, the magics that bound me to sleep are unraveling and the underpinnings of creation itself have shifted. Your resistance is done.”_

 

As she spoke she morphed into her saber-toothed weretiger form that I had seen before. It was an animal with a huge head and long saber teeth, golden and tawny fur, with reddish tones, shaded rather than striped, more lion than tiger, with eyes like golden fire. And a hunger we could all feel.

 

She began to slowly circle us, at a distance, and we turned to keep her in front of Jean-Claude and I. Jean-Claude with his rapier and main gauche drawn, I with my Browning in my left hand and my short sword in my right. She gave a half growl, half purr and the darkness spoke again. _“Too long have I been bound, denied, captive. Finally to be free, free to feed and free to bath the world in blood.”_

If this was just a real tiger, regardless of size, I’d be willing to bet on us; after all we had guns, swords, vampire strength and speed. But, I’d seen the kind of damage creatures a lot less impressive than Mommie Dearest could almost instantly heal from, and this was… well… metaphysical as well. Our weapons apparently gave her some slight pause. And elicited a response from her, apparently wondering how the hell we’d done it.

 

_“I know not how you manifested such… but… it will not suffice. You are mine and mine alone.”_

 

She continued to circle us, and then a shadow briefly passed over the moon and Mommie Dearest froze, heck we did as well, but… I’d been expecting it. Ever since something had fed my rage and my power.

 

A flap of giant wings, the sound of air moving over a large surface as something swooshed over head. And a chuckle that also came from the darkness. **_“Hello Marmme Noir….”_** Then nothing.

 

A stillness then, nobody moved. The jungle went silent and everything… waited. I felt a drip of perspiration fall the tip of my nose.

 

Suddenly the canopy disintegrated into woody debris as a dragon smashed to earth, right where Marmme Noir was… or to be more specific, had been, as Illyana literally dropped in.

 

Illyana in dragon form is freaking enormous, and apparently she can be silent when she wants to be, like when she's pouncing prey. Somehow Mommy was able to sense the attack at the last possible moment, lunging to one side, but she didn't avoid it altogether as God alone knows how many tons of scales and claws slammed into the dirt of the mindscape, Illyana got her pretty good, raking her and damn near pinning a haunch. And yea, Mommy Dearest's yowl of pain was music to my ears.

 

Illyana had come in a direction that took her away from us rather then towards us, so most the falling wood and branches went past us. But… crap. Really hard to shoot at Marmme Noir without hitting dragon because Mommy Dearest’s direction of travel was away from the dragon and right at us. Dagon on your side in a fight is great… right? Well… not quite. Imagine that you’re in a fight with somebody and your dragon is protecting you. Great for stomping the foe, take that you bitch! But… really good chance of you accidentally getting stomped on as well.  And if you want to shoot at said bitch, well, mind the dragon that's on your side that is in the direct line of fire. First rule of shooting, always know where your gun is aimed.

 

The tiger charged us as the dragon’s head turned to look our way (Damn, her head was half the size of a horse when in her dragon form). Which put us squarely in line with dragon fire as well (which thankfully she withheld from belching forth). I think I was the tiger’s target but Jean-Claude stepped forward and met her charge with a flourish of blade work that almost managed to impale one eye, but only resulted in a massive slash along the left side of the tiger’s head as she dodged most of the strike.   I managed to put three rounds into her (as the angle cleared Illyana) during the charge before a side swipe of a paw cut open my chest with inch long claw marks and sent me hurling away. A moment later Marmee Noir scored big as she sank one saber-tooth into Jean-Claude’s left side.

 

I screamed at both the act and the shared pain, and the dragon screamed as well (downside of so many links I suppose). Jean-Claude just manly grunted at the strike as he then struggled to grip the other fang.

 

Then it was Marmee Noir turn to scream as Bella did a side attack that firmly planted her spear in the tiger’s left side right up to the boor stop; looked like she’d tried to stake Mommey Dearest. The tiger turned its head as it opened its jaws, only to have Jean-Claude rip the other saber-tooth from its mouth in a spray of blood as he forced himself off the one impaling him.

 

More screaming ensured, this time I think Jean-Claude joined in, as the tiger rolled over the two of them; trying alternately to regain her bite on Jean-Claude and snapping off the spear shaft. I added 9mm rounds into the melee as opportunity presented. I was just wondering if a psychic pistol ever ran out of ammo when it did just that (Oops, my bad. Damn it! Next time believe that the gun could fire forever). Just as that happened the tiger rolled to her feet, Jean-Claude and Bella beneath her claws as it bloodedly roared at me just as my gun clicked on empty.  I could feel Illyana’s frustration as she couldn't re-engage with Jean-Claude and Belle beneath her. Great. Face-off with a literally prehistoric magical vampire weretiger... and all I had was my blade. She prepared to spring...

 

Apparently Jean-Claude, as crumpled as he was, still had had enormous muzzle-loader. He bought us all a moment as he rammed it up into Marmee Noir's soft belly, angled towards her heart, and fired both barrels in a muffled thump of rupturing tiger flesh. She staggered...

 

That’s when Illyana’s sword flared to life as she strode from where the dragon had been. She was still in full female demon form, eyes glowing yellow with power and hate and now the tiger was minus a tail. Marmee Noir turned to confront the new threat and…

 

And somehow I was holding the sword (??). It… was just there, and so was Marmee Noir's neck. Hot blood drenched me as I half severed her neck with my overhead swing.

 

Both a tiger’s and a demon’s scream, Marmee Noir's was from pain, Illyana’s was from suppressed almost unfathomable rage as she screamed **_“NO ONE TAKES WHAT”S MINE BITCH!”_ ** Hellfire surrounded Marmee Noir.   She instantly went back to her humanoid form, writhing in the eldritch flames and…

 

Then…. We were back in the chamber under the circus and all was as it was before. Apart from half the room being on fire that is.

 

Oh… and I knew without a doubt that Illyana had set us up.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yet another difficult chapter. Early draft had LordGrise critique that he felt Anita was underplayed and underpowered. He contributed content to help reshape the chapter and of course being the Anita character police. And I point out that the basis of this chapter 15b was his idea (we discussed it over many a text).

**Part 15a: Boil over**

 

 ** _“Bitch!”_** I snarled as I swept her legs out from under her while my left hand grabbed her throat and forced her down faster. She impacted the floor and I swung over her, one knee in her stomach while my right hand drew a dagger.

 

Damn it hurt as I did this. Apparently not all of the damage from the dreamscape was metaphysical, I’d noticed that Jean-Claude was standing in a small pool of blood, his blood, I’d apparently mentally recovered faster, and I also noticed that some parts of my clothing felt wet (I suspected blood).

 

 **Little pro tip:** when you're trying to make a point with a weapon, don't get distracted. That’s when I learned that her tail was not just decorative.

 

It grabbed me from behind by coiling around my neck and yanking me backwards. Yanked hard, really hard. One second I’m on top, next second she’s on top, and one of her knees is now strongly planted in my stomach; and my hands pinned above my head by just one of her hands. The dagger was still in my hand and quite useless at the moment. Because, as I grunted from the blow, I found that I couldn’t free my hands and that I was now pinned. And because she was reaching over my head her posture rather prominently reminded me that she was rather skimpily dressed (yea…I got rather a big eyeful of firm cleavage).

 

Now I’m strong, not fully were strong, hell major weres have been know to pick up and throw small cars, but I’m really strong for my size. I can bench press well over five hundred pounds with proper leverage and bracing (and I only weight a tad over one hundred pounds) so… crap, rather disconcerting. Guess she’s stronger then me when in her demon form.

 

Ok, she was now really in my face with her burning eyes and snarling mouth which had some really pointy teeth. She only had time to snarl **_“What the fuck is wrong with…”_** Before it was her turn to learn not to ignore the other person in the fight as Jean-Claude gripped her from behind and flung her across the room, right into a flaming wall with an impact that would have killed a human, I think I hard stone crack. Her tail jerked me back up before she thankfully released her grip, otherwise I’d have gone along for the ride, and the impact, blade first of course but… happy to avoid the impact.

 

I had time for a brief glance at Jean-Claude, parts of his clothing were blood soaked, but he looked, and more importantly felt, functional. Then she emerged from the flames. If her anger was smoking before, it was a raging fire now.

 

I felt my teeth draw back in a grin that vampires would be proud of, and so was not intimidated by tall, buxom, burning, and hooved. _"Come on, Bitch! Feed me to your fucking enemies, will you?! We'll see about that..!"_ And I drew upon all who were bound to us, all the groupings of the city, while the others fled to the far side of the room (even Primo which I later thought was a bit of a bitch move); except for Valentina who was still projecting a rather surprised looking Bella Morte, and Bartolome who stepped between Valentina and us (to shield Valentina I supposed).

 

 **“ENOUGH!”** She screamed as her power slammed into us.

 

Slammed into us... like iron into rock and the flames behind her morphed into a flaming dragon, as if the flames were her shadow now. Metaphysical sparks flew, and involuntarily I drew deep upon her rage... and things shifted again. All across the City, the bonds that I and Jean-Claude had forged gaped widely, their power flooding to meet our need, and as they met the hot flames that were pouring off Illyana they created the kind of alchemy one only reads of in mythological stories flashed into being. I could see it happening before it happened: The bonds flying open and my rage sparking theirs. Power roared up, hot, predatory, wolf, leopard, lion, tiger, all of them, surging into me, riding the flood of her rage.

 

And I suddenly had receptacles for that power. God help me, the dead heard me and tried to rise.

 

I felt the shadows, ghosts, and other things. I'd felt them before, long ago, and sort of walled that away. But not tonight. Crap… There were hidden mass graves down here in the catacombs, and not all the dead buried things had been human. Mingled with the normal dead were old and ancient creatures, hungry for renewed existence. Things that swore to be bound to obey me if I fed them Illyana's rage, Illyana's power. What was hers was also mine now. My Rage, My Power. I knew I could stand them all up, enrobe all those spirits, give them flesh once more.

 

Yes she was more powerful than any of us. But all of us? Once upon a time that answer would have been yes; but now? Now I think the jury just might be out to lunch. Gods her rage was intoxicating and the power burned ever hotter...

 

Then the moment ended as Illyana metaphysically slammed her links shut upon me, ripping the power from my grasp, and the hungry maws of the clamoring dead.

 

How dare she set me up! I am so not her fucking slave!

 

We were poised for combat, hovering on the brink of conflict when Bella Morte broke the mood by sarcastically commenting _“Troubles at home?”_

_“What the hells are you doing?”_ Illyana hissed at us, ignoring Bella Morte.

 

“ _You used us as bait!”_ I spit the words back at her. _“You set us up you bitch!”_ Words that earned me yet another glare from her as she replied.

_“She was stalking you, the mother of darkness. What we… did… pushed her into a more wakeful condition. She was waiting for an opening, but didn’t know that I could sense her presence. So… I arranged, with Bella Morte, to provide her what she thought was such an opening. At a time of my choosing, not hers. Bitch fell for it and now she’s more asleep again.”_

Jean-Claude answered while I chewed upon what she’d just said. _“An opening that she fell for, pulling us into her mindscape and…”_

 

Illyana finished. _“Granting me access as well as we are… intertwined.”_ And a growl from her, more of a dragonish rumble, but one easily interpreted if you’ve ever tried to take some bones away from a dog that so was not having that happen. And the feeling that I and Jean-Claude were those bones. Damn, nothing humanoid should be able to make tones that deep.

 

 _“How did you know that Bella Morte would pull her little trick?”_ Was my question.

 

And Bella Morte was the one who replied. _“Because Magik came to me seeking my assistance in this. She was so… worried about you ma petite; although she attempted to conceal it. But young love is so obvious and so very sweet. In the end she convinced me to help.”_

_“You do nothing for free.”_ Was my angry reply.

A small smile as she replied. _“No… I don’t. Magik and I reached an agreement over some items.”_

_“What?”_

_“Ask your master, perhaps she’ll share.”_ Bella Morte replied while starting to look bored. Damn, just rubbing it in.

 

The oppressive power lifted, and the fires died out at the same time as her dragon fire shadow faded away (which really was impressive by the way). Ok… if true… well shit… she’d just saved us from literally from a fate worse then death. Crap… I’m so not apologizing first, guess conversing with us about any plans was beneath her.

 

 _"She's not… "_ I choked it off. Finish that sentence and any agreements Illyana had made would now be in question as the council considered us her servants. And a master that can’t control their servants was thought of as weak. And… so don’t want her having to try to prove that she was in charge.

 

I felt her right there as I thought it, and she apparently agreed. I thought upon what had just happened and Bella Morte’s words.

 

 _(We have unfinished business over this)_ I sent to Illyana and Jean-Claude.

 

She sent back a reply, flavored with bitterness _(Of course. Why should this reality be any different? Regardless of my actions I am yet again in the wrong.)_

 

Which I think was just being bitchy. I mean… yea she was in the wrong. Ten consecutive seconds of explanation would have kept this entire fight thing from happening. I mean… she deliberately set us up just so she could... Um… but still… Well Crap… No, not apologizing first.

 

A telepathic shriek of frustration and angst from Illyana on our link. ( ** _I HAD NO CHOICE!_** _The Bitch would have sensed it! I had leave you in the dark! She was so focused on you that I was able to set it up without her noticing! Fine, I apologize. Next time I suppose I could just try leaving you all to die.)_

Damn, the pain and fear in that shriek felt real.

_(Quit reading my mind bitch!)_ I thought back only to receive a _(I wish, shards I so wish that. This must be what the telepaths have to put up with…)_ Ok… that mean something, but before I could pursue it Bella Morte spoke.

 

_“Family squabbles are so tiresome to behold, as our business is completed. I will bid you adieu…”_

That’s when Valentina interrupted Bella Morte in that little Shirley Temple like voice of hers as she took the hand of Bartolome and asked a question of Illyana.

 

 _“Can you save us? Bartolome and I that is_. _All such as we go mad and are inevitably destroyed. They say it is because we are adults trapped in the body of a child. That is to be my fate, and likely Bartolome’s as well.   Not today… not tomorrow, perhaps not for many years for Bartolome but… for myself I fear it will be soon. Sometimes I find I cease to care, other times, like now… I so wish to find a way out of this hell. I ask, can you transform our forms as you did your servant S’ym? Can you… free us from these child shaped prisons that condemn us to madness?”_

Illyana shifted her gaze from us and now stared upon Valentina with a neutral expression.

 

For a moment I saw what Illyana must be seeing, a pretty little girl, and superimposed upon that girl Valentina as she actually was. The evil that takes joy in other's suffering, growing from black frustration and desperation, and at the bottom of it all, a growing depression and apathy consuming what little was left of her. Not her humanity, but her sanity, such as it was. Then… just the pretty little girl that was so not a child.

 

Her gaze shifted to Bartolome and a creature of blackness and evil was shown as well. Not as bad as Valentina, but similar in many ways.

 

A long silence and then the ghostly image of Bella Morte raised a protest. _“You would leave my service_ _Petite Morte, the both of you?”_

Bartolome answered with a small bow. _“We would beloved Bella Morte if it meant our lives. I thank you for all that you have done for me, for what you have done for Valentina_. _But you cannot aid us in this. No one can, or could. If she can then… Then Valentina would have hope and I… I as well.”_

 

Bella Morte locked eyes with Illyana. _“Taking members of another’s court for your own is frowned upon.”_

 

Illyana replied with a contemplative and yet dismissive tone. _“I have taken nothing. They wish something of me that you could not provide.”_

Bella Morte’s ghost crossed her arms. _“Can you?”_

 

Illyana stared at them for a few seconds, then answered. “ _Yes… not here, not in this… world. But yes if I so choose. I have done such before.”_

_“Will you?”_ Inquired Bella Morte.

 

 _“That would depend”._ Answered Illyana with a swoosh of her tail. _“Are members of your court slaves or can they decide to leave?”_

 

 _“All love me and stay because of that love.”_ Was her response. Yea, Bella Morte really did believe that, or so she told herself. The fact that Jean-Claude, Aster, and others had left her did cast self doubt that Bella dismissed with the usual obliviousness of one in denial. And yet… Maybe it was the lie that allowed her to function, and maybe for her it wasn't a lie. It occurred to me that Bella Morte did not know that we had seen her wear a different form in Marmee Noir’s dreamscape.

 

_“Then they are free to leave if they so desire, regardless of the love they bear you?”_

 

_“Yes.”_

 

_“If…and it is a very big if… I accepted, then I would require them to take a blood oath directly to me. This would transfer any mystical bounds.”_

 

_“As do all who serve a court or a master.”_

Illyana addressed Valentina. _“So… Petite Morte, little demon, you wish my aid. For you… for your… friend. Why should I bother?”_ Hmmm, cold and bitchy but… I understood this was political theater as it were for Marmee Noir.

 

Valentina bowed low as she replied. _“All such as you have need of services that such as we can offer. Save us and we shall take your bindings and give our oaths._

_“We so swear.”_ Then spoke Bartolome who likewise bowed as he spoke.

The links might have been locked down, but I could still feel some of what Illyana was feeling and apparently it was not pleasant. It was disgust, but not at them, interestingly it was at herself. Something about what they were asking for appalled her.

Damn, the whole servant thing was really bothering me, and yet… she did say bit of both as to the bindings. I had hated being bound to Jean-Claude, even though it had saved my life. Hated it and had fought it. Fought until… until I guess I stopped fighting it as I grew accustomed to the benefits.

 

I had three of the four marks that a vampire could give. Why not the fourth? That mark was kind of forever, can’t be undone unless the vampire dies. When I accidentally formed my bindings with Nathaniel and Damian it had all been done at once, all four marks, but with me as the center. Doing all four marks at once was believe possible because I was mortal and the rules were not understood about… such… things… Shit! No wonder she said that killing her was going to kill us.

 

I suppose that was why I suddenly pushed so hard, why I insisted that she help them. To show that she wasn’t in change of everything. Proof that we were NOT her fucking slaves! To proved it to myself and… I suppose her.

 

 ** _(Do it!)_** I sent.

 

I could feel her reluctance as she replied. _(It would involve the master spell, the core of my abilities, a reshaping of another. I have not done that since the creation of my soul sword. To reshape a thing… is… I am crippled in this, they may end up worse then they are.)_

 

 _(So explain it to them. Let them decide.)_ I sent back.

 

 _(Perhaps if we assisted? Assuming such a thing is possible?)_ Send Jean-Claude.

 

She did and… I really didn’t like what I heard. Illyana could reshape them, give them new forms but… it might not go well. That was not the part that bothered me, it was when she explained that her innate nature could change them. I suppose they could get more evil, but what stuck in my mind was the fact that coffee now tasted bad. Had… I been reshaped? Had all of us? Just how much of me was still… me?

 

And… if she can do this… Could she heal Aster of his disfigurement? And what would be the cost?

 

Bartolome and Valentina looked each other in the eyes, I suppose they had some silent conversation, and then they verbally agreed. Bella Morte gave her grudging consent and departed after she and Illyana exchanged a few last cryptic words.

 

 _“I can have anything I want_.” Said Bella Morte with a seductive smile.

 

 _“Just better not take it from me.”_ Replied Illyana with a frown.

 

 _(Just what did you trade for her help?)_ I sent, which earned me a grumpy _(Not in the mood to share)_ reply. Great, she’s as moody as I am after an emotional blowup.

 

Then she sent. ( _Anita, a word of caution. Don’t listen to the voices. The other kind of dead. Yes you can likely raise them, but the bindings won’t_ hold. Such power always finds a way to break such bindings.)

 

( _And you know this how?)_ I replied. Which earned me the cryptic answer ( _Ask Belasco.)_

 

And yea I got it. The bastard who’d raised her back from the dead and tortured her. He’d been in control right up to the time she’d snuffed him. Ok… likely really good advice.

 

We sent the others out of the room, and boy were they glad to leave.

 

Then…. Illyana took all of us to hell.

**Part 15b: The Shaping**

I don’t remember much of what happened. I think Illyana did that on purpose, she never explained and… we never asked. No idea how long it took, not sure if time had any meaning.

 

I just have images, recollections.

 

Burnt orange sky

Basalt like ground, rocky and black

Hot wind with the smell of brimstone, burnt metal, and grit

 

Pain!

I hurt to be here

This place is… hurt

Not only a place of pain, a place in pain

It screams… It screams like Illyana screams

Like the land is but a reflection of her

 

A blazing red fired pentagram with a naked Bartolome and Valentina at the center

Holding hands

Not resisting in any way

Oath’ed

A wash of silver flame over them

 

There was a power and a will in the air

Reality felt like it was but her echo here

Her will was all

 

Energies gripped the two of them

Her energy… our energy

 

Shaping

Forming

Molding

 

I watched and yet…

I participated

As did Jean-Claude

 

We… we did this

 

My talent used as if I was a knife in a surgeons hands

 

A knife to cut

Extract

Excise

 

Jean-Claude knowledge of what to cut

What to reshape

What to remove

What to burn out

What to mold into

 

Her power to…

Make it

Force it

Bind it

Burn it into reality

Force existence to be what she willed

 

In the end a tall thin woman

A tall man, muscled like a runner

 

Elegant

Dangerous

Vampire

 

Hers

 

And yet…

 

Ours?

 

Illyana returned us to the chamber

Valentina and Bartolome wept as they clung to one another

They now were as they had wished to be

Bloody tears of joy

Of astonishment

Of grief

Of pain

Of fear of the unknown

 

For they now had a chance at a different future…

**Part 15c: Steak**

A darkly lit steak house. Our two male voices are busy consuming high grade bovine products.

 

 _“Not quire as good as the Bowery Meat Company, but it gets the job done oh so well.”_ States male voice number one. Then… in a more hushed whisper.

_“Any signs of anybody not buying it?”_ Male voice one stated as he chewed.

_“Nope, their all still onboard. And why not? The cover story is a good one.”_ Answers male voice number two. _“And it is true… well mostly true. Apart from not telling them about destroying the forbidden zone in Russia, and the little fringe benefits we also want.”_

_“We need another aura reading. It’s critical. I’m… concerned that the effects from the last ritual… and just how off track we may have become.”_ Grouses male voice number one.

_“I’ll pass the word.”_ Promises male voice number two _. “So… just how off track might we be?”_

_“If… and this is a big if… if nobody is dead then she has likely forged a second link. My guess is either Jean-Claude or Mr. Zimmerman. Those two are the strongest. My hope is the vampire, my fear is the wolf.”_

_“Why is wolf worse?”_

_“Wolf is different, mortal, earthly, hot rage vs. cold rage. She’s a demon. Miss Blake was meant to be the temporary mortal component of the rituals; and I emphasize temporary. More mortal components… are bad. Plus we still have no idea why she continues to wear the body of the still unknown sacrifice victim.”_ (Author Note: See the first story, Snowflake’s passage, first story Scary Things, and no she is not wearing the body of a sacrifice. This is one of the things these two idiots have gotten wrong).

_“You’re still not buying the delusional demon theory?”_ Replied male voice number two after both literally and figuratively chewing.

 

_“No… that smoking ruin of a pyramid in Egypt rather disproved that, at least to me.”_

Male voice number two gestured with his fork. _“Let’s assume it’s not the Master of the City or the head werewolf, that leaves the head wereleopard and the other vampire. I’m discounting Anita’s weak vampire and wereleopard as that would make no sense. Micah has been a busy little were with that whole Lycanthrope coalition of his, he could have all kinds of light were mythical connections now a byproduct.”_

Male voice number one agreed. _“Shame if it is him as the coalition has done good work. I would prefer the vampire Asher over the leopard, again that mortal thing. Gads… what more mortality does to the equations… the magical instability of the enchantments would rise…”_ The voice paused. _“Um… dramatically rise… shit… but… even two moral components in the equation at this point should not cause… what some have supposedly observed.”_

_“Yea, my girlfriends even a member. Is it possible that more then one additional link was created?”_ Mused male voice number two with a concerned tone.

_“No… not possible. That has never happened.”_

Then silence while the two men thought upon the idea. Then male voice number one spoke.

 

_“Blast it, the solution is obvious. It’s the wolf, Mr. Zimmerman. Yes, he’s a strong one, but he’s the head wolf. All that extra potential due to being pack leader, and his own link to Jean-Claude as well results in extra energy spillover.”_

 

Male voice number two agreed. _“Yes… that makes sense. The aura reading will provide the exact details. But that means that Mr. Zimmerman needs to go by-by as well as Blake. I’ll pass that on to our Russian friend.”_

Male voice number one chuckled. _“And the leopard as well, best to be safe. Had a brief moment of panic there. Can you imagine the impact of more then two links?”_

_“No I can’t. The… well… the feedback potential would… would…”_

_“Would be beyond unstable… and apocalyptic.”_ Finished male voice number one.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for the Magik Seven to find out just what has happened to them. I’ve been writing the following chapters for quite some time but did not publish as I needed to make significant progress in order to ensure that all the pieces fit together. As always, lots of feedback and input from LordGrise.
> 
> And as always, comments are greatly desired.

**Part 16a: Intermission**

_(You are quiet ma petite. In this case that means you are either upset, sad, or thinking. I would wager upon the thinking_ ). Jean-Claude sent as he walked over to where I was standing by myself.

 

Valentina and Bartolome had departed, after first being given some robes (Jean-Claude had summoned some staff). They had brought robes and other things like a table, chairs, and a refreshment cart (absent any coffee).

 

Primo, Willie McCoy, and Burt had also departed. Apparently they remembered nothing the moment their respective council members had taken over (at least that was their story) until the council members had departed. With their departure, the others of our little group had arrived. Asher, Richard, Micah, Nathaniel, and Damian. Plus three additional people had joined our little party. They were:

 

 **Jason Schuyler** As I said before, a Stripper at the club Guilty Pleasures. He’s a werewolf, best friend to Nathaniel, one of my occasional lovers (he calls it a fuck-buddy which tends to make me blush), and he’s Jean-Claude's _pomme de sang_ (Apple of my blood). A _pomme de sang_ refers to a person who has agreed to regularly feed a vampire (or me, sigh… that little sex problem I have). A _pomme de sang_ is considered a submissive position, but valued, similar to a "kept man or woman" among humans. _Pomme de sangs_ are protected from interference from other vampires, and are typically given gifts and otherwise treated as a human might treat a lover. They are NOT whores and sex does not have to be part of the deal for a _pomme de sang_ who gives blood. If they are weres it tends to not change their pack ranking, but… also usually does not hurt; especially if they are _pomme de sang_ to somebody really powerful.

Jason’s in his early 20's now, he met me when he was younger, he's a Gemini (which somehow embarrasses me to know that), has blonde "baby-fine" hair and sky blue eyes. He’s also my height and loves to tease me or flaunt his being a stripper and/or sexuality. He has an intense fear of rotting vampires or anything similar due to being rotted on by two vampires bitches, now dead, in a sexual context (I was there and a massive yuck does not begin to describe it).

 

He’s one of my best friends and always keeps me honest, like a good friend should. As Jean Claude states so eloquently, Jason is the only person that can apparently give me hard truths and not make me angry. And he recently became my wolf to call (Meaning I can call just him). Animal to call means to can summon and control both were and none were animals of a certain type (unless they are strong enough to resist). I can’t summon wolves, just him (e.g. my wolf to call).

 

 **Remus,** a werehyena and currently Asher’s first blood, calling him a _pomme de sang_ is way too strong a description as Asher tends to switch to a new ones ever few weeks or even more often, partially to do with his wining personality was my suspicion. Currently the hyenas are his blood of choice as hyena is his animal to call.

 

 **Kelly Reeder** is a female werelion, She’s short, slender, muscular, and blond (why are they always blond?) She’s a fighter who uses both physical attacks and weapons, and is not anybody’s _pomme de sang_ or on the blood donor list. But she’d made her wishes known that she wished to participate however Illyana may have use of her. An obvious political ploy but… one that was discerning. Apparently she was going to be Damian’s blood source for tonight.

 

Damian did not have a regular _pomme de sang,_ too low ranking, and he’s not a master class vampire. Rather think the low ranking has just changed, and I suppose we’re about to learn just what also has changed. Wouldn’t be surprised if there was sudden interest by some in being his _pomme de sang._

 

**BEGIN RECOLLECTION**

 

After we had returned from hell… or Limbo… not really sure of the difference, Jean-Claude and I were a bit… numb I suppose. Numb from what we’d seen, and done. Jean-Claude just held me at first as I shivered.

 

Valentina and Bartolome also just hugged each other and cried for a while, whereas Magik gave all of us room I suppose by keeping her distance and standing by the opening to the cavern. In hindsight I noticed that going to hell had no impact on her, which I suppose it wouldn’t but… talk about coming from a bad neighborhood (yea I’m trying to make a joke but… hell… literally).

 

After a few minutes Asher and everybody showed up, along with the three others who were apparently to be blood donors for tonight, and robes for Valentina and Bartolome (Jean-Claude had given mental orders). Asher gave them both a very long and hard looks as they departed, still clinging to each other as if nobody else in the world existed or mattered.

 

But Illyana stopped Kelly as she entered. _“You are not the one arranged for.”_

 

 _“I took his place.”_ Was her submissive answer, eyes downward and shoulders slumped.

 

Illyana had a cool tone in her voice as she asked. _“Why?”_

 

_“I wish to be... I persuaded the other that this was not his place.”_

 

Illyana said nothing but had an expression half examining, half inquisitive, which prompted more information from Kelly.

 

_“He refused and we fought, I won. He lives, but will limp for a few days.”_

 

Illyana observed. _“Your Rex will punish you for this as you did this without his knowing.”_

_“Yes…”_

Illyana shrugged. _“On your tail then. Your blood is acceptable.”_ That’s when Jean-Claude and I broke our hug and walked over to converse with the others.

 

Illyana had then started to discuss what was going to happen. First she was going to examine the vampires, then they would each take blood one at a time, from one of the blood donors, as she examined them. Apparently she believed that this would give her the opportunity to influence any… potential issues as she believed that the taking of new blood would unlock such issues.

 

Ditto for the weres, except that we would be teleported to some remote forest and the weres would apparently transform and kill a deer or something; Richard looked annoyed at her words and grumbled a bit about expectations for monsters.

 

And I got to go to an ancient cemetery, although Illyana was a bit vexed with me as I had drawn on her rage and she now felt that most consequences for me may now be fixed and beyond her ability to influence. And annoyingly she would not go into any more detail until it was my turn.

 

And because of my prior insistence we all got to do it together.  Yippe! Next time I really need to think before I bitch.

 

**END RECOLLECTION**

 

It was obvious that Kelly was up to something, my guess was lion Pride politics. Were groups are very hierarchical, and frankly almost all are little dictatorships. Strongest wins. Make a leader look bad and they had to punish you to demonstrate their authority and power. Very much animal alpha nature. And… sigh… human as well. I can’t really interfere as that just causes more problems then it solves. I know… I’ve tried.

 

I sent back to Jean-Claude _. (I could be angry.)_

 

He reached me and gave me a slight kiss and a caress on my cheek. ( _No,_ _ma petite. You are rarely quiet when angry. You ponder, and I think that place… that Limbo… is the reason.)_

 

Jean-Claude had me there. I tend to be very in your face and mouthy when I’m angry. Which is not always been the wisest thing to do. Heck, the first time I did that with a bunch of vampires I’d ended up bounded to Jean-Claude as he had to share his energy with me to save my life from the fractured skull they’d given me (Jean-Claude was not the one who struck me by the way).

 

 _(Can she hear us?)_ I sent.

 

_(I do not think so my love. Unless she tries that is. I am not sure just what she is truly capable of if sufficiently motivated. I do not think the voices she spoke of are our actual voices or thoughts. And for some strange reason I think… she does not wish to eavesdrop.)_

 

_(Just… aspects of us?)_

 

_(Oui ma petite, I suspect it is just that. One supposes we shall soon learn more.)_

 

_(Just how… strong is she? I mean… she’s really strong here, and there… it was like… like…)_

 

_(Like we were little things ma petite? Worms beneath her feet? No. In that you are wrong. She could not do what she did without us. And she would not have done it without your passion for her to do as you demanded. She did as you demanded, in that you were in control as it were.)_

I mused upon what I could recollect of what had happened in Limbo _. (The reshaping… it’s like she’s blind to so many things.)_

_(Perhaps, as she said, she cannot remake something without remaking it into her own image. A significant deficiency for one who wields such power. One wonders at the cause of such a flaw. She is finite ma petite, do not forget that, for I believe she most certainly has not. And whatever she is there, she is far less here.)_

 

 _(And yet she remains here.)_ Was my thought.

 

_(She said it hurts to leave our world, that she is ever stronger bound to it now. That her rules are being altered. And I suspect… Tell me ma petite. What did you do to the two vampires who enslaved you?)_

I went cold as I replied _. (Killed them._ _Alejandro forced all four marks on me and I killed his ass. Seraphina enslaved me and make me love her with only one mark, and I caused her to be burned alive; God that hurt, hurt so much. But I did it.)_

 

_(Nobody makes you their slave Anita. It is one of your more enduring traits. That fierce will. That strength to do what must be done. Do you believe her to have such strength?)_

_(Yes_ ) I cautiously sent.

_(And yet we live. Did we not burn her alive? Did we not… have our way with her?)_

I pointed out that… _(She was going to kill us. You saw the stakes, my knives, my gun. They were all beside her.)_

_(And yet she could not do what you have done? The answer to that ma petite is the answer to much. False love should not be that strong. So... what has such power?)_

_(Quite being coy Jean-Claude. Spit it out.)_

_(She was soulless, yet apparently has one now. How could she kill that which provides the salve for her pain? Combined with love? In that her hand is stayed. And…)._ A pause.

_(And what…)_ I sent.

_(The ardeur. Your version can adjust another, sometimes grant what is desired if it is within its ability.)_

_(There is no way I gave her a soul.)_

_(No… yet… the ardeur was present during… It was part of the wild magic that was out of control. Do not so lightly discount what your ardeur may have done ma petite. Did you not win the fight for first…)_

_(First fuck? … Yea... Not proud of that. But...)_ With a tone of both some humor and irritation. _(What do you think_ _Valentina and Bartolome are up to?)_

 

( _I believe_ _ma petite that Bartolome is teaching Valentina the act of physical love. He always did like older women and Valentina is so much older then he in years.)_

_(You mean screwing their brains out.)_

_(So vulgar ma petite. But yes… I suppose they are doing just that.)_

And that was that for private musing as Asher suddenly started a verbal fight with Illyana.

**Part 16b: Demands**

 

Illyana had a paper cup holding some hot tea, well past tense as Asher had suddenly knocked it from her hand while he grabbed her arm and shouted.

 

**_“No! I will not wait till later! We will converse upon this now!”_ **

 

Apparently Illyana and Asher had likewise been having a mental conversation, although from the sound of it Asher has been ignored as Illyana had been verbally discussing what was to going occur with the vampires and the blood donors.

 

And now Asher proceeded to rant about how he should have been included in the body transformation magic that had just occurred for Valentina and Bartolome. And how dare Illyana, and us, treat him so badly by having excluded him. How yet again his needs were ignored and obviously were of no concern to those present.

 

The others had the good graces to look embarrassed at his antics whereas Illyana just stood there and did not look impressed. Asher dismissed Jean-Claude’s, and mine, attempts to verbally intervene.

 

_“No! No words from you can excuse this. Let her speak! Let her speak now! Let her…!”_

 

Illyana was staring at Asher the whole time he was ranting and I thought I saw… weird, it was like there were glowing circles of words and equations surrounding him, some of them looked… lopsided and warped. She finally interrupted him, but only to address the group.

 

_“Is this a thing? He rants and whines and you all pay attention?”_

 

Ok that was rude, but… sadly rather accurate. And his rage… felt just like Asher being Asher. Damn it, this Prima Donna act of his was getting old.

 

**_“I! DO! NOT! WHINE!”_ **

 

 _“Then what do you call this?”_ Was her bland response.

 

_“Giving voice to my just grievances!”_

 

_“Which are?”_

 

**_“You did not heal me! You did not even give me an opportunity!”_ **

 

I suppose there was some justification to his anger. We had not even thought of asking him. I mean, there was no guarantee that it was going to work for Valentina and Bartolome. Jean-Claude and I had decided to first see what would happen to Valentina and Bartolome before we dared to risk Asher. So of course he reached the conclusion that we’d ignored him when we hadn’t. I was more then a little irritated with him as he had not been ignored! To date Asher had refused any attempts to see of modern plastic surgery could mitigate the scars that were on the left half of his body. We first wanted to see if modern medicine might work damn it!

 

A bit of history for those who are not familiar with Asher’s history.

 

Asher is a Master Vampire of Belle Morte's line, and is a lover of Jean-Claude and I. Centuries Asher was formerly part of a menage-a-trois with Jean-Claude and Asher's human servant Julianna, until the Church burned Julianna at the stake as a witch and tried to "burn the devil" out of Asher with holy water in a form of Chinese water torture. The holy water left Asher badly scarred, and for many years he blamed Jean-Claude for rescuing him too late, and for failing to save Julianna.

 

I’m able to see beyond the terrible scarring and I came to love him (likely due to massive emotional overlap from Jean-Claude… crap overlap, just like Illyana… umm). This allowed Asher to overcome his hatred for Jean-Claude (though he still carries heavy emotional baggage). Gods can be such a drama queen at times. Plus he really likes S&M, and mostly doing the S part of S&M although at times…

 

 _“It was neither the time nor the place, and…”_ Was her attempted reply before Asher interrupted.

 

**_“I SAY WHEN IT IS THE TIME OR PLACE! NOT YOU!”_ **

 

A momentary pause then… _“So… I am your… slave now?”_ She inquired simply. _“Only fit to do as you demand? Do you bidding? Some kind of magic genie to cater to all of your wants and whims?”_

 

Crap. No good. Really not good. And it really bothered me that Illyana was not physical resisting in anyway way. Not because I felt she was under his sway. No, it was because I felt she was letting him dig his grave as it were, something we girls sometimes do by the way guys. I tried to intervene only to get another verbal slap down.

 

_“Keep quiet Anita! This is between me and our new master!”_

 

Aster’s voice suddenly sent low, seductive, as he looked into her eyes and said.

 

_“Feel my need. My pain. My want. Did you not enjoy what I did to your body? Did you not enjoy the after affects? Think of the things I could do for you… to you… The dark pleasures I could inflict. I could constrain you and force you to experience pleasure beyond your ability to withstand or comprehend. I would pleasure you. Hurt you. Make you love ever moment. Don’t you want that little one? Don’t you want that? Desire that? Crave that? Give me what I desire and I shall…”_

That’s as far as he got. And yea… apparently she can get so angry she can catch on fire. She ignited as if she was doused in gasoline and the flames spread to Asher as well!

 

Vampires do not do well with fire, or holy water. She was burning like a touch and so was Asher!   Asher screamed and let go of her arm and flailed about as she stepped back and just casually walked over to the refreshment cart! As she walked away her flames died out, Asher’s did not.

 

The weres and I quickly pulled off our jackets and rushed Asher to smother the flames! We rolled about the floor beating out the inferno. The two vampires stayed away as the flames were a threat to them as well.

 

We finally smothered the flames and I shouted at Illyana as I got to my feet **_“God damn it you bitch!”_** The weres were behind me and growling at Illyana, apart from Kelly who looked like she was really wanting to rethink this whole thing that she had gotten herself into; Jean-Claude and Damian were trying to slowly flank her on either side.

 

She looked at us as she slurped a freshly opened Coke. _“Yes… most likely. But why in this case?”_

****

**_“You didn’t need to burn him!”_ **

_“I didn’t.”_

_“ **Then explain!** ... this?” _ I pulled a knife with one hand as I pulled the jackets off of Asher with another, revealing his mostly naked body (his clothing had mostly turned to ash) and scarred form… scared but not burned. Not even his hair. He stopped screaming and looked astonished at his un-burnt body.

 

She relied after a slurp. _“He’s fireproof now, at least to ordinary flames. Wonder if the other vampires are as well? And the weres I suppose. I’ll need to take a closer look… but I’d bet money on it. Can’t have a familiar to a hell lord who’s flammable, that’s just… impractical. I noticed as I examined him during his rant. Makes me wonder as to your flammability index as well Ms. Blake.”_

She then popped an Oreo cookie in her moth and she just stared at us as she noisily chewed.

 

**Part 16c: Take two**

 

Ok… have to admit that she made a point. Not sure what point she made, but she made it. Jean-Claude sent for yet more clothing while we all huddled together and examined Asher, who had stood up and was looking with amazement upon his unburnt skin. Except her of course, she sat down on a chair and just watched us.

 

Asher started to mutter threats or something. _“Cette salope... I shall…”_ Which was silenced as I punched him in the stomach. Hard.

 

And now it was my turn to rant. **_“You utterly stupid self centered prick! Of course we thought of you! There as a high chance it wasn’t going to work!”_**

_“Ma petite is most correct Asher, that was inept even for one of your tantrums.”_ Growled Jean-Claude. _“One grows weary of such unnecessary theatrics.”_

 

I sent. ( _You tried to mind roll her with sexual bondage?! **Her?!)**_

 

Jean-Claude added his own comment. ( _Did not the example of Cairo, or the Hyenas give you any pause?)_

 

The (Let’s pick on Asher) party was abruptly cut short by her sarcastic and angry comment.

 

_“What interesting ethics you all have. He tries to mind fuck me and all of you just stood around and barely even protested while he was attempting it.”_

We all exchanged various levels of guilty looks. Yea… It’s not like she’s one of us but… Suddenly a couple of Sunday sermons were in my mind, and… not liking the role I’d just played.

 

Nathaniel offered up a brief and weak defense. _“Anita always pulls a gun or a knife and… Asher is just that way.”_

_“Which Anita and Jean-Claude tolerate.”_ Grunted Richard _._ That pissed me off, but the eyes of the others all appeared to agree what Richard had just said.

 

It got quite for a bit and then she just sighed. _“Crap, even Sam apologized after trying to kill me… Ok. That’s it. I can’t kill you, but nothing says I can’t hurt you. I give up, guess it’s kind of do unto others as they just won’t stop doing unto to you. Next time you set out to hurt me, I hurt you back.”_

Ok that was a threat, I had been rethinking other prior statements of hers that may have in fact not been threats, but that was definitely a threat. And yet… she sounded frustrated and… upset.

 

The air was filled with tension when suddenly Micah suggested _“Take two?”_ Which earned him an inquiring stare from her.

 

He continued _. “Do over. We’ve done unto you. You have done unto us. Past is the past and we don’t mention or reference it again. What happens going forward from this point on is the only thing that matters.”_

She stayed silent and looked… contemplative.

 

Nathaniel quickly agreed. _“Take two.”_ Damian agreed as well. Micah and Richard looked to me to answer first while Jean-Claude and Asher stayed silent.

 

 _“Take two then.”_ I slowly agreed. It… made a kind of sense, and was a way out of the social situation we had all created. I saw relief flicker on all of the men present.

 

 _“Agreed.”_ Spoke both Richard and Micah at the same time. Jean-Claude and Asher likewise voiced agreement.

 

She was the last _“Agreed.”_ And no follow up threat... that’s good.

 

Nathaniel added a question as Asher stripped off his burnt rags and put the newly summoned clothing (Jean-Claude had already changed out of his bloody clothing into a new white lacy shirt and black leather pants). _“What were you trying to tell Asher before he interrupted you?”_

 

She got up and got another cookie. _“That what we did for_ _Valentina and Bartolome would not work for him. I cannot reshape a familiar, or in this case a servant as that is the word you use for this… co-relationship. It doesn’t work that way.”_

 

Asher stared hard at her, then his shoulders drooped a bit and he closed his eyes. _“Then you cannot heal me.”_

 

We all perked up as she said. _“No, that is not what I said. I said what we did for_ _Valentina and Bartolome would not work for you.”_

Suddenly there was the flicker of hope in Asher’s face, I really hoped she wasn’t being cruel. _“Does this mean you can heal me?”_ He gestured at his scared right side. _“Heal… this?”_

 

Which elicited a scowl from her. _“Gee why don’t we let the arch mage get done examining you first? Or is that too much to ask?”_

I had to admit it was somewhat satisfying to see Asher bite down on his reply. She continued.

 

_“Still need to do a group vampire examination as I need to see the differences between the three of you, but first I suppose Asher gets an early examination. Everybody please step back.”_

 

We all did, which created a circle of people with Illyana and Asher at the center as she walked forward and the started walking around him in a rather clinical and way.

 

Asher inquired will trying not to sound sexy _. “Should I take my clothing off… la magie_ _(French for magic).”_

 

_“No, I am very… conversant with your naked form.”_

I could see the comment hurt his feelings. It went without saying that Asher was sensitive about his scars.

 

 _“Too appalling for you.”_ Was his bitter complaint. A complaint she appeared to not understand as she looked distracted.

 

 _“Your scars? Naaa, I mostly don’t notice, seen worse… Hells, I’ve been worse more then a few times… No…You’re too distracting. All that yummy… um… it’s distracting.”_ And that’s when she blushed. Hell Lord super bitch blushed like a seventeen year old girl.

I got a glimpse of insight then, the links really were two way. I may not like coffee anymore, and I might, just… might, be attracted to her. But she liked what she was looking at, just as if she was me. Shards, she’d even used my word for it… yummy. And Asher didn’t look quite so dejected anymore. Interesting... just how much the bindings were altering how she thinks? Gods, if so, then she’s the only one who appears to have had their speech patterns affected as of yet. Need to be on the lookout for speech pattern changes in the others, thank the gods that I appeared to be immune so far.

 

As she continued to stare I began to see the layers of symbols and circles and equations again. They encircled Asher, some were even embedded into him. And again some were distorted, lopsided, even… smeared. Some were golden and silver, others were burning red and black. I think… I saw a few words I understood, they were names. Jean-Claude, Anita, a broken and shattered circle that contained the name Julianna, and a blackish red circle that contained the word Illyana.

 

Then a comment from her that was aimed at me, a comment that had to be a joke.

 

_“Anita, how on earth do they manage to pull off being sexy in lace? Men in lace is not sexy, yet… the three vampires pull it off. Spectacularly pull it off.”_

I licked my lips in surprise and responded. _“Um…. it’s an old vampire trick, and I think a French thing. Non of the modern vampires or weres can pull it off.”_

_“Lace was once the height of fashion.”_ Was Asher’s disdainful explanation. Which made no sense, and yet somehow did.

 

She finally stopped walking around him and the equations faded away. She commented.

 

_“They did good work when they healed you. You should have perished.”_

Jean-Claude had rescued Asher from the church, taken him back to Bella Morte, and the council, and begged that they save him. They had, but the price had been high. Jean-Claude had been boxed for two years, meaning he was trapped in a coffin bound with silver and a cross. Most vampires can survive it but… survive is not the same as being unharmed. Afterwards he served the council for ninety eight years, and was a real favorite of the Traveler’s hobby of possessing other peoples bodies for sexual playtime. At the end of his servitude he departed for the new world. Asher had hated him all the while, blaming Jean-Claude for Julianna’s death. He’d felt that Jean-Claude had let her die rather then risk himself. That was not true but… Jean-Claude had also blamed himself for her death and Asher’s maiming.

 

She continued. _“They mostly did not have the means to fully restore you, especially Bella as this is beyond her for a variety of reasons. I suppose the Traveler could, but he lacks the motivation and of course the connectivity.”_

She then had Asher, Jean-Claude, and Damian stand side by side, like some kind of sexy vampire casting call. Again she started to walk around them and again I began to see glowing equations inscribed within circles, glyphs, and other glowing writing. Jean-Claude had the most, then Aster, and then Damian. One of Jean-Claude’s rings had a warp it in as well, whereas Damian were all smooth. I felt a slight sense of amusement on my link with her as she said out loud.

 

_“You did always want to see the rules as it were Miss Blake.”_

 

That explained what I was seeing, the so called “rules”. And just my luck I lacked a magic decode ring… although… I suppose I did have a Magik decoder ring.

 

She flicked at a strange golden glyph that was part of Damian’s rules, it shimmered and I noticed similar glyphs in the swirl that surrounded Aster and Jean-Claude. Then she dropped a bomb shell of a comment and all the vampires froze.

 

_“Day walker.”_

_“Damian?”_ Asked Jean-Claude in a very careful tone.

 

 _“All of you.”_ Was her reply. _“Of course I’m sure you’ll likely be most hesitant to test that statement. One proof will be that you will sleep when you choose now, not when the sun rises.”_


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yea… rather not following the canon in the books at this point. That does not mean that some magic wand might not restore things at the end of the story but… I tend to dislike such tricks as I believe that discards character development. Plus I really disliked the last book Laurell K. Hamilton wrote (Crimson Death), although Cringing Death would have been a better name for it (my God it was bad).

**Part 17a: Asher**

She flicked at a reddish black circle inscribed with black burning glyphs that was slowly rotating around Asher, I noticed that there were likewise glyphs around the other two. _“As I said, fire proof.”_

She stepped back and had Asher’s blood donor come over, the equations fading from the other two but not Asher. She positions the other two vampires at either side of Asher _“In case he gets over… enthusiastic. Not sure what first blood will do.”_

A comment that earned her a slight dismissive look from Aster as to the possibility that he might lack control. But… I suppose the concern was valid. Asher and I had been having sex and… and it got out of control. Both Asher and I had finally accepted that my love for Asher is real and not simply an artifact of my connection with Jean-Claude. But… crap… I surrendered my self-control more completely than I had ever done with any of my lovers, and… Asher lost control as well under the force of our combined powers, nearly killing me. That little… ok, massive, orgasmic bloodbath had resulted in Asher coming into his own power as a master vampire, gaining the power to call hyenas and werehyenas.

 

Only the love Jean-Claude had for Asher prevented him from killing him over that. As a result Asher and I are not allowed to have sex by ourselves any more. I… see why… I was dying and I loved it. Loved it to death. That really scared me… but I keep having sex with Asher so… um… Let’s not go there.

Asher was smaller then Remus, so Remus had to bend his head down. Asher used his left hand to tilt Remus’s head so as to expose the neck. Looked at the pulsating vein, then bit.

I saw a red pulse of power go threw all of the equations as Asher suddenly grew a black shadow with red burning eyes as he drew upon the blood. I looked around, no shadow from anybody else… crap… excerpt me. I had her devil girl shadow again, which I swear had the gall to wave at me (which is like weird).

 

Then… A swirl of memories, all from Asher’s perspective. It must be the links! I try to close the link to Illyana, but she refuses to let it close; and I guess I learn the answer to the question as to can she force a link to be open. She keeps it open, and before I can protest it’s too late as I plunge into Asher…

 

…

Burning with pleasure from Bella. **BELLA!** Never have I known such touch, such intensity! I howl as I spill myself within her.

…

 

…

Envy… how I envy this Jean-Claude. Such beauty, such grace. I fear he will replace me in the graces of Bella. I maneuver against him in her court. Yet… over time… I…

…

 

…

The first time making love to Jean-Claude. The passion, the pleasure, the contentment of lying in each others arms. Not the howling firestorm of pleasure from Bella.... but more… love is returned. Bella does not… love… she is only loved. I learn that… there are some hungers Bella can never feed.

…

 

…

Julianna. She is sugar to Jean-Claude’s spice. We are so happy together. But it is Julianna that is the true glue of our menage a troios. I am happy. In our self delight we leave Bella and explore the world. Twenty years go by as if in a dream. Jean-Claude departs but briefly to visit his dying mother.

…

 

…

**_BURNING! SHE’S BURNING! THEIR BURNING HER ALIVE! JULIANNA! MY JULIANNA! SHE CRIES, SHE SCREAMS, AND HER WORDS ARE A CRY FOR JEAN-CLAUDE! SHE DIES WITH HIS NAME ON HER LIPS! MY SERVENT DIES… BUT I SURVIVE…_ **

…

 

…

I thought I knew pain. I thought the loss of Julianna was the ultimate. The holy brothers teach me just how wrong I was. They strive to burn the devil from me with holy water. Day after day they slowly destroy me. My right side is a wet bleeding burn of ruined flesh. And then, only then, does he finally deign to arrive. To save me he claims… as if this wet red ruin of flesh can be saved.

…

 

…

Years… I don’t know how many… before I am sufficiently healed, if you can call this scared form healed, to walk and hunt again. In his guilt he bargained with the council to save me… as if this is salvation. He only did it to assuage his guilt. I curse him every time we meet. Bare my form, my pain to him. Force him to turn away from the results of his handiwork. He leaves after an eternity, or so it feels.

…

 

…

Alone.

Reviled in disgust.

Not even worthy of being hated… just… distained.

I learn to fly… but it is poor recompense for what has befallen me.

I nurse my hate, for it is all I have left.

Hatred of one who claimed to have loved me.

And cost me everything I held dear.

…

 

…

Denied one form of pleasure I learn other means of enjoyment

I learn to take pleasure in causing pain.

And sometimes from pain but… I much prefer to give then receive.

Broken.

Mangled.

I learn to be the monster that I am viewed as being

…

 

…

A chance!

A chance to harm him at last!

I shall take from him what was taken from me!

He shall lose his servant as I lost mine!

Shall I simply kill her? Drain her? Or should I cause her to burn!

As my beloved Julianna burned.

My hate warms my heart.

…

 

…

I… can’t.

For so long I wished to harm, to hurt him. And now…

I can’t.

Not because I am unable…

I… she… Jean-Claude…

I so wish for the pain to end…

This is not life… this is hell…

And to my horror and delight… she leads me out of it.

Anita

Are we… her… Jean-Claude…. I

Am I able to love again?

…

 

…

I love her, yet…

She is the center, not I.

She controls us, not Jean-Claude.

We are only allowed to do as she accepts.

Ever more lovers she gets to take.

While the rest of us must wait our turn.

I love her…

She loves me.

And yet part of me hates her.

…

 

…

Sometimes… I lay here…

I wonder have I gone mad at last…

Is this all just delusion?

I hope not.

Sometimes… I remember my mother

I’m so small… but safe in her arms

She makes the hurts go away

I wish I knew…

I wish I knew how

…

 

The storm of memories ebbs, and I see tears on everybody’s face, looks like everybody got spillage as well. Tears from everybody but her. Damn she’s a cold one.

 

Asher releases his donor and everybody was silent as she examined him, his equations pulsing with power. It was Richard of all people who finally asked, in a small voice.

 

_“Can you heal him?”_

 

A growl from her and the shadows faded away, along with the equations.

 

_“Yes, but the details are unpleasant.”_

She then explained and yea… unpleasant did not begin to describe it.

 

 

**Part 17b: Test healing**

Illyana went into nonchalant lecture mode.

 

_“Vampires are dead. Yea I know… not exactly a big revelation. Dead and animated by magic. Able to heal, although repair might be a better word, from horrendous damage, But not from holy artifacts like a silver cross or holy water. That’s because the magic has the definition of what they are. Sometimes that can be slightly modified in that those of Bella’s line, or those influenced by those of Bella’s line have been known to increases in attractiveness. Not to mention that most vampires increase in power as they age; again modifications to their magical definition.”_

Ok… she appeared to rather know her stuff. And… I bet part of it is the links she has to Jean-Claude and Asher. She continued.

_“Asher’s definition as it were is massively damaged. He should have died. But instead the council poured power and expertise into him to stabilize him. And as he slowly recovered he was able to stabilize the damaged magic. That damage is represented by the warped and damaged rules that Anita was able to see as I examined Asher. Damage that plastic surgery cannot correct as Asher’s form is fixed. The very thing that saved him now forces his damaged flesh to remain as it is. But… if one sufficiently skilled in the arts arcane were to cut away the corrupted magical flesh while at the same time forcing power into Asher to force heal, as the Traveler did when he first visited you, then I believe that his scars can be significantly reduced.”_

 

When the Traveler had first come here (Author note: as told in the story Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton). A female vampire of Jean-Claude’s, by the name Liv, had betrayed us. The traveler had shared power with Liv allowing her to repair damage in a matter of minutes (Jean-Claude had ripped her throat out with his hands in rebuke for her betrayal). And yea… in the end she learned that selling us out was a terminally bad decision.

 

Was it going to hurt? She kept using the word massively far too much.

 

Could it happened tonight? No, but a small trial healing could be attempted.

 

Could any of us do it? No, rather needed to be able to see and understand the rules and… I think the links mattered as well.

 

Would she? Yes, but she looked really grumpy about it.

 

What was the price? Which was why she was grumpy, the question had offended her. Hey… it was a fair question, I mean demon and hell lord? Right? Well… apparently not right. Wonder if this is how guys feel when they’ve pissed off a woman and everything you say keeps making it worse…

 

And that’s how Asher came to be sitting at the table with his scared his right hand on the table. The other two vampires were holding him down by the shoulders while Richard and Micah held down his right arm and hand.

 

Illyana was on the other side of the table, in her female demon form; tail and all. She holding a small knife. I was behind her, _“look and learn Miss Blake”_ had been her comment. She stared at Asher and again I saw the glyphs and circles surrounding Asher, and this time I saw some of hers as well.

 

The complexity of her equations was staggering. And so many of the circles were either partially broken, or had been repaired by having different colored pieces grafted into place. And many of the repairs, they looked… fresh? Like they were still shinny or something.

 

Just what had been done to her? The apparent damage to her equations dwarfed Asher’s like a redwood tree dwarfs a rose bush.

 

She gripped Asher’s right hand with her left hand and then used the knife in her right hand. It went quick, she used the knife like she was whittling wood, stripping the flesh from Asher’s pinkie like she was stripping the flesh from a chicken bone, all the while there was silver fire burning in her left hand, which spread and covering Asher’s right hand.

 

He screamed. Gods how he screamed, and only the strength of the other vampires and the weres kept him in place. I could see exactly what she was doing as she cut away his flesh and with it a very small part of his equations. And… I think… rewrote them with her silver fire.

 

Flesh grew on the pinkie bones as we watch, grew and while not perfect, was almost as good as the left hand. It was done and they released Asher who was panting from the ordeal, and then leaned over and threw up (and yes a vampire vomiting blood is so gross).

 

Ok, that sucked at many levels. Ordinarily having the vampire flesh mangled like that should not have hurt Asher that much, but she’d been cutting far deeper then just flesh. There was hope, but… the path of pain that awaited Asher was horrifying.

 

That is, if he choose to walk that path…

 

But not tonight.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As I’ve said before, Mother of Darkness takes more time to write, and these are difficult chapters. Plus, as I said in the last chapter (meaning I wish I could publish write/publish chapters faster). I really disliked the Crimson Death book (the last Anita Blake book published), and that book has definitely influenced this chapter. LordGrise did a major rewrite of part 18b (as always great thanks be to him. He also functions as the Anita character police).

**Part 18a: A Touch of Ireland**

 

 _“Next contestant.”_ Was Illyana’s flippant remark, but she looked a bit shaken now that Asher’s ordeal was done. I don’t think it was the blood or the inflicting of pain, hells, she’d looked completely clinical and detached as she’d done it. I somehow got the impression that she could wade through a river of blood and death and pay it no mind.

 

No it was something different, she… she was rubbing her right pinkie like… it bothered her.

 

Everybody milled about, took a few minutes as Asher needed a some recovery time from the ordeal. I took the time to ask, on the links, why she’d force the links to remain open when I tried to close them (and I was rather unhappy that she’d been able to do that.) And I included everybody in the question. Turned out everybody had tied to close their links and had found that they likewise failed.

 

 _(Why did you force the links to remain open?)_ I sent with irritation.

 

She replied with no hint of apology _(Had to, the links aid me in understanding certain things. Closing down the link hinders that understanding. And that hinders my ability to influence what might result. Please don’t try to close the links again. I’ll let the links subside once all of you are done doing what you need to do.)_

_(The intimacy of the memories is damn unsettling)._ Sent Richard. _(Private thoughts and memories should remain private)._

Yeah, agreed with that. Plus I’d bet he didn’t like that sex scene with Jean-Claude.

_(The links make that impossible Richard.)_ Replied Jean-Claude. _(Although I wonder who or what prompts the memories.)_

Suspicious glances at Illyana who defensively replied. ( _Don’t look at me. I really don’t want to know what goes on in your minds. Hate having folks in my mind as well.)_

Noticed that her answer was a bit of redirection. I think she knew exactly what caused the memory flow but wasn’t talking. Okay, her please was nice but… the fact that she could force the links to remain open demonstrated yet again that she was at the center of the links, and the strongest. Damn, I hated that. But… she did say please so… Need to talk about this later. General agreement from the others in that we needed to try to set some ground rules. Rather annoyed that Illyana make no comment upon the statement of setting ground rules, which somehow made me think about a committee of mice arguing about the cat. But back to business.

 

Now it was Damian’s turn. Just as with Asher, she repeatedly walked around Damian. And again I saw what she said were the rules that defined him. Interestingly, he had fewer glyphs and circles then Asher. I’d be willing to bet donuts that that was an indication of relative power. The stronger the individual the more… things defining them.

 

She commented as she walked around him. _“I see odd… variations. The one who made you was vampire... but she wasn't ever human, was she?”_

 

Damian quietly responded. _“She who must not be named created me. It was said that she was of the Fey.”_

_"Unseelie, to be a bit more precise...”_ was Illyana’s offhand remark, wonder how on earth she determined that?

 

Yikes… Fay and Unseelie at that. Let’s see… I recall from my comparative mystic creatures class in collage that the categorization of fairies based on court is whether or not a fairy is supposedly light or dark. The Seelie court are known to sometimes seek help from humans, and to aid them. They warn those who have accidentally offended them, and to return human kindness with favors of their own. Things are not all roses and honey however, a fairy belonging to the Seelie court will avenge insults and are know to be prone to mischief. Other names for the Seelie court are 'The Shining Throne' or 'The Golden Ones' and 'The Summer Court'. The converse is the Unseelie Court, consisting of the darkly-inclined fairies. Unlike the Seelie Court, no offense is necessary to bring down their assaults. However, just as the beings of the Seelie Court who are not always benevolent, neither are the fairies of the Unseelie Court always malevolent. Most Unseelies can become fond of a particular human if they are viewed as respectful, and would choose to make them something of a pet… well shit. Shit for Damian and shit for us as Unseelie really describes Magik in many ways. Oh, and of course one of the worse Fay insults is to mistakenly say that a Fay came from a certain court when they were from another court. I felt her irritation at my Unseelie comparison of her. But if the shoe fits…

 

Illyana gestured for Kelly to approach Damian. Damian inquired as to where she would like him _'to taste you'_ , which I thought a very nice way to approach the subject; she went for the traditional neck bite. Likely wanted to make a statement to everybody, and in particular the Werelions, as such a prominent bite location was harder to hide (I tended to wear scarves and high necked sweaters when I have such bites.)

 

Illyana appeared to be focusing on one set of odd symbols that swirled around Damian, they looked… Celtic? She somewhat explained to me as she got ready.

 

_“Leftover from his creator. Looks like some sort of magical back door... This is not ordinary vampire magic, this is much more subtle and deep, and definitely the work of a skilled practitioner.”_

Her right hand lightly grasped the core Celtic looking symbol, preventing it from moving. _"And with this out if play, the rest should be meaningless and dissolve away.”_ Then she nodded her head at Damian. Damian bit Kelly and drew deeply upon her blood. Kelly gave a faint moan of both pleasure and pain as Damian’s rules flickered and pulsed… and then he suddenly projected what looked like a Viking shadow, and just as with Asher, we got a wash of unwanted memories...

 

_…_

_Standing on the prow of a Viking raiding ship, a clear but windy day. The shores the green isle are before me. Easy picking it is said to be on this island. I return to my seat and grip my oar with eager anticipation and resume rowing ever the harder._

_…_

Then a feeling of utter despair and fear.

_…_

_Twas our doom! She! She! … She who must not be named! She took us… killed most of us… made but a few of us that caught her fancy hers! Hers in all ways! I learn that she is the center of all and punishes all who challenge that fact. She is dark ecstasy built of pain and fear. Her will is all that matters. Damned we are. Damned by She who must not be named._

_…_

_…_

**_PERRIN!_ ** _My friend! He burns! The sun turns him to ashes and she but laughs in hateful delight! He walked screaming into the light of day and is no more! He has no choice! Her will is all… all… **ALL!** We are nothing, less then toys… I tremble in fear, and do all that she demands. All that she who must not be named requires of me._

_…_

 

Then a feeling of loss and emptiness. The bitter reward of surviving when others have not.

_…_

_Free? Or cast out? She… she who must not be named has sent me forth. I… I don’t know what to do. Am I free? Or… just a discarded rag? This one, Jean-Claude has won my freedom. But what is freedom…_

_…_

_…_

_Trapped again. But now to a necromancer! I… must obey her. I… love her? Or is it just the power she has over me? I fear … is she going to be like she who must not be named. Part of me… wants that?_

_…_

_And then the time I fled what I was, when I shutdown everything so hard. Closed all the links as hard as I could and refused to associate with anyone. And only later did I learn the harm that caused Damian._

_…._

_I… I’m slipping away. She’s gone… My master… Anita. She’s… closed me out? I… I fade… I…_

_I…_

_am gone…_

_…_

_…_

_Bounded even tighter to her. And yet… she is… she is good, or tries to be. So not like she who must not be named. I wish… I wish I was more to her._

_…_

_A new darkness! So… blazing. She takes us, all of us… or is it us who takes her? I… I keep remembering it different ways._

_…_

 

A compulsion, a calling.

 

…

_Blood._

_She’s calling._

_SHE’S calling!_

_Must not…_

_Must not…_

_Must not… no… she who must not be named… must not…_

_Not…_

_Not… No… don’t_

_I…_

_I must_

_…_

 

A soft whisper spoken by Damian, the name _“Morvoren”,_ just as Illyana twisted, and pulled forth the Celtic symbol. I felt a lurch, and noticed Nathaniel start as well, while at the same time Damian’s shadow drew a sword and appeared to shout about something.

 

And that’s when things went to hell for the second time that night as Illyana screamed and the links from her slammed shut as Damian hurled Kelly away.

 

 

**Part 18b: She who must not be named**

Illyana screamed and collapsed to her knees while what appeared to be a strobing white light went off in her hand, casting strange and distorted shadows on the walls. At the same time both Damian and his shadow froze while a white mist poured out of his very pores and above him took the shape of an inhumanly beautiful ash blonde female, geared as if for a war that had been over for two thousand years or more. She laughed malevolently, flashing long, long fangs while I drew my pistol and a knife and everybody backed up a few steps. My blood ran cold as I realized that Morvoren, the Master of Ireland, somehow stood among us.

 

_“Delightful! Mine now! Mine! And the power! Such sweet power! Ah, dear Damian, what a magnificent choice sending you out into the world has turned to be!”_

Morvoren was obviously not human; no human woman had ever had features that beautifully fine and utterly perfect. Her eyes were anime large in her face, and the irises were in three concentric colors: gold, red, and a vibrant glowing purple. Her gaze was terrifying and penetrating as I could feel its dark wings beating frantically upon my mind, stirring all my old terrors. I could understand why she was She Who Must Not Be Named; to draw her attention was to be subjected to her power. She likely had to struggle to keep it in check...

 

Morvoren supposedly had been offered Mr. Oliver's vacant seat on the Vampire Council, and had refused it; seeing her, I could believe the story. I wondered if she even considered that it was far more likely that the ancient ban against vampires, that Ireland boasted of, had more to do with her survival following that colossal insult than her personal power did; somehow I doubted it. I mean, in terms of personal arrogance, she was right up there with Obsidian Butterfly (A female vampire I know in Arizona who was more then a little nuts). It takes a special kind of madness to believe oneself a Goddess...

 

The strobing light from Illyana’s fist kept going off and the resulting flashes of light threw random shadows on the walls, shadows that were shifting on each flash into mythical looking figures. Big shadows of giants, trolls, and warriors. Smaller shadows of what looked like the Fey. And all those shadows were linked by dark lines to Illyana, as if she was casting the shadows, or being used to cast the shadows. Thank God she’d slammed the links shut as soon as things went sideways; that was likely why Morvoren wasn't in our heads as well. But that also meant she was alone in her struggle, and if she failed… shit.

 

 ** _“MINE!”_** Morvoren continued to gloat. “A _new council shall arise; but now bound to me. It shall in part be composed of you, my unwilling slaves and this… thing, but it shall be my will!"_

She floated down the ground, then bitchslapped Illyana, and as Illyana fell, I caught her. The instant I did, it all started to go wrong for the Bitch Queen of Ireland. I have only two abilities that are mine as birthright: my Necromancy, which it seems everyone knows about... And my other ability, that even I haven't a name for: Any ability or power used in my presence, and especially if used against me, I have the chance to learn, subsume, make it my own.

 

Illyana was linked to me; as close to me as my own heart. As soon as our flesh touched, I instinctively knew what Morvoren was doing. And were Illyana was strangling her power draw so as to minimize what Morvoren was doing... I could let myself shine.

 

Morvoren's arrogance was worse than Obsidian Butterfly's, I realized; Obsidian Butterfly had at least drawn me to her citadel to face me on her terms and on her ground. Morvoren had invaded our city, our citadel, all by herself, in the sure and certain belief that she would inevitably triumph.

 

As quickly as I knew this, all my loved ones knew what I intended. I looked to the wall, even as I drew power, and we all suddenly grew shadows. Mine was the devil girl, red of eye and eager of hand, armed with pistol and blade as I often was. My hand blazed cool blue, the color of Cherenkov radiation, and in its pale blue light, I saw the Shadowlands that Morvoren ruled. My shadow stretched forth her hand, and I reached for her. And suddenly we where simultaneously in the Speakeasy Caverns, and yet facing Morvoren on that darkling plain of the Shadowlands.

 

And we weren't alone. All those shadows and wraiths we had seen dancing in the speakeasy... were with us. Showgirls with revolvers. Guttersnipe punks with their switchblades. And all the made men of the yesteryears with their .45s and their Tommy guns...

 

Then what I assumed to be Morvoren’s thoughts invaded our minds, and Illyana's screams stilled.

 

…

_Burning wicker man shaped figure filled with screaming men… how delightful the sounds of their screams… the smell of their burning flesh. A fitting sacrifice, a culling of those from the losing side._

_…_

_…_

_The island is strong… these wolves in human form… these vampires… are kept at bay. Most who come do not awaken again from their day sleep. And those who do… fear… I am… intrigued by their abilities…_

_…_

_…_

_They dared! The others… the Fay… they strive against me! Say my time has passed! I will not Fade! I find another way to resist… and the Fay take flight from me. I have wedded myself to this curse of blood taking. A union of Fay, wild magic, and blood. I grow stronger and all fear me!_

_…_

_…_

_This island grows… small. I wish for more… but as one who rules. Then… I feel my long discarded Damian entrapped in wild magic! Wild Magic that is not on the shores of the green isle. I set my trap and wait… wait for it to spring as it must…_

_…_

 

All the while the bitch continued to gloat. _“Oh so conveniently linked! Linked to her who is linked to my Damian who is linked to me! I felt the wild magic burn the night past, and I prepared! You will all be…”_

That’s when we attacked her. Apparently a shadow firing a gun had an impact as she abruptly ceased to gloat and staggered back, looked surprised. Then it was grand combat as our shadows fought her as they shot, clawed, bit, and struck at her and her Unseelie horde. They fought back with swords and clubs and as they struck at our shadows we felt the impact as wounds and cuts afflicted us.

 

In hindsight it was odd seeing a shadow thrown, or being backhanded into a wall. Even odder to see blood flowing from wounds on a specter. All the while the strobing light kept going off in Illyana’s hand as she screamed, then she began to utter imprecations and incantations while continuing to writhe upon the floor.

 

Nathaniel, Asher, and I took up guard positions around Illyana and fought with any shadow that approached. Nathaniel slashed with his claws while Asher struck with his fists; the result of either were bits of shadow sent flying as they bled liquid darkness.

 

I noticed Jean-Claude and Richard fighting back to back. I broke rank as I dodged under a giant of a shadow and stuck my knife in its leg while Micah jumped upon the back of the giant shadow and clawed out its throat. It stumbled back before fading away...

 

Remus and Jason stood guard over Kelly as she had apparently struck the floor and was disoriented, and still in her human form.

 

The battle raged around us, and Morvoren's forces were taking a hideous pounding. Having hordes of monsters on tap is all very impressive... As long as the other side doesn't have guns, or magic of its own. Ours did, and about a third of them were full auto sub-machine guns. I looked away from that ongoing slaughter, seeking my people, living and otherwise.

 

In the cavern, Morvoren was a mere five feet away. On the plains, Damian was the attacker she could not rid herself of, as he slashed and tore at her, fighting to win his freedom. A wave of smaller shadows surrounded Nathaniel and Asher as now Micah and I fought back to back. Damian was encircled as well, but he was magnificent, destroying anything that came within reach of his blade, and hacking at Morvoren in between attacks upon him.

 

And then he won free. In the Shadowlands, he severed the last foul, sticky binding, standing in stark contrast to the clearly weakening Morvoren. In the cavern she promptly started fading as she turned to scream at his betrayal.

 

And that’s when Illyana rose up behind her, with a snarling look of hate and darkness just dripping off of her, her right hand still strobing. She grabbed the specter with her left hand (Apparently she can grab ghosts was my later abstract observation, and oddly, I felt a pang of jealously because… well… I’m the necromancer, not her, so need to learn that trick) while screaming in rage.

 

**“You’re not going anywhere, Bitch! Time to die!”**

That’s when Damian, in the flesh, struck Morvoren. He’d severed her control of him, and now was somehow armed with a sword made of pure shadow. A sword that he used to hack off Morvoren’s left arm in a spew of ghostly gore

 

Fire burned in Illyana’s left hand, and Morvoren went up like a torch, while screaming like a banshee. The strobing from Illyana’s right hand abruptly ended. _"You are just too stupid to live..."_ was Illyana's snarled comment, and then she was holding that burning sword of hers. One of her transport circles abruptly flared into existence, and Morvoren's bloody physical form fell thru and merged with her astral form, or psychic form, or whatever you want to call it. Illyana instantly impaled her, nailing her to the stone floor with her burning sword. A containment circle of power promptly blazed into existence as Magik made some quick mystic gestures. Inside it, Morvoren writhed and screamed and burned.

 

Gods how she burned. Like a magnisum fire, burning so bright you had to shield your eyes.

 

I let the power slip from me, and all the shadows that had fought for us faded away. The burning glare faded as well and there was just red glowing coals and ash within the circle. As my devil girl shadow departed she grinned and waved at me with raised sword, while saluting me with her tail, that’s when I noticed that my shadow had fangs as well, long fangs. Somehow that annoyed me in that even my shadow has an attitude…

 

Everybody looked ragged and cut up, but there were no injuries that were or vampiric regeneration were not tending to.

 

Illyana wiped blood off of her lips and then snarled again. _“Somewhere in this dimension there is a dial marked drama and it’s set way too fucking high.”_

First thing she’d said that we all agreed with.

 

We took a ten minute break to attend to our wounds and recover. Illyana explained to Damian, and the group, _“Bitch with no name still had her hooks in you”._ The containment circle flickered out after the last of the bitch finished, and another transport circle carried off the cinders. Illyana commented as the ashes vanished.

 

_"Atlantic ocean, five thousand feet up. Should scatter her sufficiently..."_

 

Jean-Claude dryly inquired while helping Richard bandage a long slash on Richard’s back… _“Are we now at war with the Unseelie?”_

 

Which prompted another snarl from Magik and I swear I saw her devil tail flicker into existence for a second as she wrenched her sword from the cave floor. _“No… and if some Fay think that, then I’ll explain it to them until those who remain alive understand that we are not at war.”_

Not… the best way to explain something. But we all got her point.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, really didn’t like Crimson Death so… no longer possible in this version of the Anitaverse. And… I don’t tend to undo things at the end of my stories so… I suppose it’s by-by Morvoren, don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.
> 
> I know, I know… a bit cruel but… dear God that was a bad book. I was thankful that I checked it out from the library rather then buying it.
> 
> As always, major thanks to LordGrise.
> 
> Hmmm, I suppose I should have Anita explain more about Master Vampires for those who are not major Anita Blake readers.

**Part 19a: A brief lecture interlude (just what the heck are master vampires?)**

Picture Anita, wearing glasses, in front of a black board wearing a white smock that shows her legs and a more then just a hint of cleavage (think sexy professor motif) while holding a pointer that she waves about as she speaks while sitting on a desk next to a blackboard.

 

_Master Vampires are a higher class of vampires that have more expansive powers combined with fewer limitations. Master vampires are usually senior vampires or vampire elders with greater knowledge, authority, and experience than most of their kind, although I have occasionally met Master Vampires who are quite young, as vampires go anyway._

_And now a few brief words about Soudre de Sangues. Every Soudre de Sang is a Master Vampire so powerful that those vampires they personally create normally have the same signature ability that the sire has. For example, most of Belle Morte's line have access to variations of the Ardeur; thus, vampires she sires are recognizably hers. On the yuck scale, all vampires of Morte D’Amour’s line are rotting vampires._

_Becoming a Master Vampire is a process unique to each particular vampire. Most vampires will never attain that status; if they do, it usually takes centuries to develop. Some vampires will never become Master Vampires no matter how old they are._

_Some Master Vampires have the ability to control the power development of vampires under their control (either via direct descent or blood-oath). Some Master Vampires can share, enhance growth, and/or retard development of power. For example, Nikolaos (Jean-Claude’s former master) prevented Jean-Claude from growing in power when she was Master of St. Louis and he was blood-oathed to her. Likewise a Soudre de Sangue may retard the development of Master Vampire status in his or her followers. Nikolaos was likely very close to achieving the status of Soudre de Sangue._

_Enhanced powers include:_

**_The ability to Call Animals:_ ** _Some Master Vampires have one or more animals to call. Mr. Oliver had the ability to call snakes, Belle Morte can call felines, and the Master of Beasts can call nearly every animal. This ability also allows them to summon and command lycanthropes of their type, but a sufficiently powerful lycanthrope can interfere with this call. For example, Nikolaos had the ability to call rats and wererats but Rafael temporarily blocked her call, preventing her from calling the wererats of his Rodere against their will._

**_Rise Early:_ ** _Some Master Vampires, such as Nikolaos, Mr. Oliver, and Warrick, were able to wake, move, and use their powers during daylight, but must remain protected from direct sunlight. Aubrey, although not a Master Vampire, was capable of at least reflexive motion during daylight if threatened (that was when Edward and I killed him in his coffin by injecting silver nitrate into him, he sat up and was choking Edward to death before I took care of it). Damian is able to move and survive in the sun, and now supposedly Jean-Claude and Asher are as well._

**_Superhuman Strength:_ ** _Master Vampires possess superior strength to a vampire of comparable age and may be stronger than vampires centuries older than them. It is very intimidating to see what some of them can do._

****

**_Empathic Voice Manipulation:_ ** _Jean-Claude has the ability to form an emotional or hypnotic connection with his voice. Jean-Claude's voice is almost a physical sensation at times when I hear it, like silk against skin or fur caressing your skin. Asher also has this power, but Jean-Claude is able to portray joy and pleasure better, while Asher is able to portray sadness and bitterness better. I’m unclear whether this difference is inherent in the power, or simply due to the individual vampire's personality as Asher just loves moping and being a drama queen as he so hates not being the center of attention._

**_Human Servant Creation:_ ** _Human Servants are permanently bound to a Master Vampire by a magic called marks. There are four types of mark needed, and when the servant is bound by the fourth (final) mark, he/she becomes immortal. The Human Servant can only die by violence or when the vampire they are bound to dies. Most Human Servants die if the Vampire they are bound to dies. I survived when I killed the bastard who enslaved me, but afterwards I was hospitalized and they had to restart my heart several times. Also, if the Human Servant is killed, either by blade or bullet (they can’t be poisoned or catch a disease), sometimes the Vampire they are tied to dies as well._

_Some vampires, if they also have an animal to call, have used this ability to bond with an appropriate Lycanthrope as well as a human._

_Not sure where we all stand on the whole marks thing with Illyana, and I’m unsure if there actually is a distinction as she keeps saying familiar rather then servant; which makes me think it’s the full Monty as it were, all four marks at once, which would mean… um… no quite sure in this context._

**_Triumvirate:_ ** _When a Vampire binds a human servant and a lycanthrope who is also their animal to call, the three may form a triangular relationship called a triumvirate. This relationship forms a virtual circle that magnifies and shares the abilities of all participants. I accidentally created a second triumvirate with my servants Nathaniel and Damian; likely due to my being a necromancer. In the case of a triumvirate, the one who binds the animal servant and the other servant, whether vampire or human, uses their energy to keep the others alive and are able to have mind-to-mind communications. In my case, if I don’t eat, or feed, I will begin to feed off of Damian and then Nathaniel until I feed my hungers (the energy loss can kill them by the way so… not as good a perk as it sounds). Really need to find out how that relates to her and us. Really really hope that does not apply, meaning her feeding upon us._

**_Resist Silver:_ ** _Some vampires, most notably rotting vampires, are not hurt as badly by silver. Some are not affected at all (which really sucks when you're busy shooting fifty bucks of ammo at something only to find it means nothing). It depends on how much power the vampire has and how old the vampire is, though age rarely has that effect. If immune to silver, I recommend flamethrowers; and no I’m not joking._

**_Summon Blood:_ ** _This ability allows a Vampire to cut or skin an opponent, but only if that opponent has a magical aura. Serephina (another master vampire I’ve killed) said she accomplished this by using a vampire's own 'aura of power' against itself, and that humans normally lack such an aura and therefore cannot be harmed this way. Magical entities and practitioners apparently have such an aura of power, which enabled Serephina, to cut those humans from a distance just as she does vampires. Jean-Claude admits to being unable to do this, though he does hold the knowledge of how it is done. I have also gained this vampiric ability to cut a vampire's aura, although I rarely use it. Crap… if she’s gained it, or can figure out how that’s done then she could shred a vampire at a glance with her level of power; best not to mention that for now. Um… crap. Bet that if she didn’t know before then she knows now._

 

A dark thought intrudes upon Anita’s brain. _(Indeed I do, now. Thank you, Anita...)_

 

_Ahh, fiddles… um… back to the lecture._

**_Drain Power:_ ** _A Master is capable of drawing all of the power from vampires that they have personally sired or who have sworn to him or her, reducing them to a weakened, near-skeletal state. Some vampires can drain power from any vampire and kill them that way._

**_Call Shadows:_ ** _Some master vampires can call shadows, cloaking an area in darkness._

**_Pyrokinesis:_ ** _Some vampires have a minor level of pyrokinesis (the ability to create and control fire with the mind), but major pyrokinesis is almost unheard of among vampires because flame is supposedly the mystical element of purity, which I think is total bull because demons don’t have any issues with fire._

**_Generalities:_ ** _Vampires are rarely solitary creatures, although the most powerful ones appear to have a greater tendency towards being a recluse. Vampires congregate in packs, and in larger groupings that in cities are called Kisses. One must keep in mind that a Master of a City does not actually have to have a city; the term 'city' denotes a territory. Rural cities are larger in area due to smaller populations of humans whereas city Cities tend to be smaller in area, but contain more vampires. Usually all vampires in a City are blood oathed to the Master of the City. Roving bands of vampires are blood oathed to the leader of the band (who often is the creator of most or all of the band)._

_Most Masters of a City remain unknown. Jean-Claude is the most “out” of the Masters of a City; in that he is a celebrity, something the Vampire Council tolerates as this is somewhat of an experiment for them._

**Well back to the story…**

 

 

**Part 19b: Time out**

As we all took a break I took a close look at Damian. He and Kelly were standing by each other while he tenderly examined a bloody cut on her head. I looked with my necromancer abilities, my master relationship over him, and… and I tried to look at him as Illyana was able to look.

 

Damian now felt very different. In most cases I’ve always been a good judge of vampire power and age, but Damian... he had felt only a century or two old, whereas he was over one thousand years old. And a vampire that old that feels so weak never grows strong enough to become a master vampire.

 

But now I felt and saw that there had been major changes. I tried to interpret what I observed and felt as I privately sent to Illyana: (Lion to call?)

 

She replied from the chair she was sitting on holding a slightly bloody napkin to a split lip, confirmed both my question and the other thing I saw, and everybody heard her statement. _“Lion is now yours to call, Damian.”_ Which meant that he was also now a master vampire. Well golly gee. Guess the Bitch of Ireland had been suppressing him all along. I wondered about Lion, though... That wasn't Irish at all. Or Viking.

 

Illyana got up and went over to Damian, and after some further examination it turned out that Damian was also able to summon his shadow’s sword at will. It looked like a Viking sword, and none of us wanted to touch it, even before Illyana exclaimed **_“No touching!”_** as she looked at it. According to her it was like her soul sword in that that was an embodiment of rage and hate, Damian’s hate in this case; made manifest by his sudden jump in power and the little thing with shadows that kept doing odd things around her, that somehow had resulted in him gaining this sword.

 

It was wickedly sharp and, according to her, it was highly dangerous to any undead. She couldn't determine just what it might do to a were, but there was a noticeable lack of volunteers for finding out; their instincts were that it was highly dangerous to them as well. So… a sword that is dangerous to vampires, zombies, and ghouls. Kind of wondered where necromancers and humans fit in that index? Again, a lack of volunteers for finding out.

 

I did find it rather amusing, seeing Asher looking enviously upon the shadow blade. I don’t think Asher had ever envied Damian about anything before. And of course there was some masculine ribbing about how they thought Damian’s sword was longer then Asher’s, which of course elicited the declaration that that there is more to swordsmanship then just the length of the blade, that skill in its use accounted for more.

 

Men…

 

 _“So she’s banished? Or…”_ Inquired Nathaniel asking about Morvoren. Apparently he was not quite sure if what had happened meant that she had been written out to use a TV series term.

 

 _“She’s dead.”_ Groused Illyana who was still holding that napkin to her split lip. _“Imbecilious stupidious is now fish food. Her aura was completely destroyed; scattering her ashes was just a formality. All that she was is now gone."_

She then asked the group a question. “ _Just how often do things like this happen to you guys?”_

We exchanged glances, then I spoke for the group. _“Too often.”_

 

I suppose we took a corporate ten minute time out (meaning you break from a meeting for ten minutes but it takes twenty before you start the meeting again). We really did need a longer break after Morvoren.

 

Richard and Micah ended up hanging out together and going over details about the upcoming were parties. It was good to see that they could get along about some things. Basic gist was they were both wondering if the other wished to attend their gatherings. Downright polite and courteous of them. Both declined as they each felt that each were group should have their own private moment with her. Rather funny seeing their shadows playing rock-paper-scissors while they were talking...

 

I had to agree, though. The wereleopards are a small group and rather relaxed about most things; after all we can all fit in my living room. Whereas the werewolves were a massive group of almost eight hundred and needed a meeting hall sized space, in this case they were going to be at their traditional forest meeting place called the Thronos Rokke which was also the name of the clan (place of the throne rock) which was in the woods outside of St. Louis; the wolves would meet there every full moon to gather and hunt.

 

After Illyana was done, Damian and Kelly went off in a corner to quietly talk. Gods above and Below, I so wanted to listen in... guess even I like girly gossip from time to time. Every minute or so their shadows would suddenly grow darker and start making out for a few seconds, then the shadows would go back to just being faint shadows.

 

Remus and Nathaniel started conversing while Nathaniel combed his hair; hair down to your knees needs a lot of combing and upkeep. They were talking about the club scene and Remus’s concern for his pack, and his pack leader Narcissus. Not sure if that was supposed to be a hint, but the rest of us ignored it so… if it was a hint it failed. Nathaniel’s shadow flickered into motion at one point and stared to also comb Nathaniel’s hair as well, but only for a few seconds.

 

Asher, Jean-Claude, and I made up our own little talking clique as we conversed over what had happened; Illyana just grabbed some cookies and a coke and did a fly on the wallpaper routine until Jason went over to chat with her.

 

 _(What is he doing!?)_ I sent to Asher and Jean-Claude.

 

They briefly observed the interaction and then Asher commented _. (Apparently showing more insight then the rest of us.)_

_(Oui)_ Sent Jean-Claude after a long look _. (We are… too close to see the obvious. Too… connected.)_

_(What do you mean?)_

_(What do you see ma petite?)_

_(Jason talking with somebody who could kill him in an instant if he annoys her.)_

_(No… ma petite, that is might have been, but not what is. Look closer.)_

 

I grumbled to myself about male testosterone mansplaining bullshit and then tried to put my assumptions and knowledge aside and look again.

 

_(I see… Jason talking to an attractive young woman who is taller than him and who is… is that… blushing?)_

 

Asher had a grin in his thoughts. _(He teases her. He has explained where he works and is offering her a… free pass.)_

 

 _(But she’s not even attracted to…)_ I froze at my thought. How the heck do I know what she’s attracted to?

 

 _(The young wolf is attractive, teasing, and smaller then her. Most… insightful of him.)_ Was Jean-Claude’s pleased thought.

 

 _(He’s not any kind of threat to her.)_ Was my sudden insight.

 

_(Yes… and what else ma petite?)_

_(She’s… treating him like a person, not a thing.)_

 

_(Yes… mostly the old and powerful do not truly think of those less powerful then them as people. They are just creatures to be used if desired. Her reaction is most… promising. I suspect this is a continuation of her behavior when she hired you, but enhanced.)_

 

Asher added. ( _I think he reminds her of somebody… and she is surprised to receive… attentions.)_

 

 _(But…)_ I sent. I mean… she had to always been the center of attention looking like that. I mean, blond and perfect? Of course she had to have been Miss Popular.

 

Jean-Claude mused. _(Her… descriptions of her compatriots. The group called the New Mutants, such a strange name, does not paint such a picture.)_

 

I returned to a prior thought. _(I felt that she was not… into men. But now…)_

 

Jason pointed to Nathaniel who was in profile from her perspective. Whatever he said made her eyebrows rise. You could so tell that Nathaniel had noticed her looking at him and he started to casually flex as he brushed his hair with long slow strokes. Both of them were exotic dancers, or strippers if you were not in polite company, and knew just how to demonstrate their physical forms with that grace that mostly only weres and vampires can archive.

 

Jean-Claude was polite in his comment. _(It is always good manners to appreciate beauty, it is only just and proper that she notices the feast that is before her.)_

 

And again… men. Here’s a hint fellow gals, many a man likes to preen in that they like being noticed by a woman. I just get to hang out with the far end of the bell curve of male attraction.

 

Asher made the more direct comment as Jean-Claude was too polite. _(She is paired with you Anita. Likely many kinds of things are rubbing off.)_

Yea… rather concerned about that, and just how… two-way that exchange might be.

 

I replied. _(Weird… hell lord one moment, power so vast in that Limbo place of hers that we can’t even begin to comprehend it, then embarrassed nineteen year old woman the next?)_

 

I had some concerns because _(Jason’s a flirt. If she takes it for something that it’s not then she could be offended.)_ Crap, needed to have a brief talk with Jason to make sure that he’s not opening a big can of trouble on himself.

 

 _(Perhaps he wishes to take another one for the team.)_ Quipped Asher which caused me to slightly blush.

 

Until after the ardeur, the thought of Jason as a sexual entity not on my radar, was how he put it. Then he’d been an emergency ardeur feeding where he actually joked about taking one for the team. After then he was most definitely on my radar, much to his delight and my embarrassment at times.

 

Brief side note, I don’t feed the ardeur every time I orgasm, but I will orgasm when I feed, and this will cause all but the strongest of my partners to orgasm as well. Suddenly I felt… not… happy? Not sure if I was suddenly jealous or concerned or… It’s not like Jason’s one of my boyfriends, he’s just… my friend; and I don’t want my friend to get hurt.

 

Jean-Claude observed _(I suspect her emotions towards our Jason may be quite complicated.   Jason is dear to you Anita, likewise he is to me as my pomme de sang. He and_ _Nathaniel are very close as well. To better see her true reactions to most people, I suspect we will need to examine her interactions with those who lack emotional context to us, positive or negative._ )

 

Yeah… that was a good point.

 

Asher then made both a male statement, and a rather insightful observation. _(I do not think she has had much… practice at social interactions, and other things.)_

 

I countered. _(She certainly showed enough skill back at the meet and greet.)_

 

Jean-Claude disagreed. _(Group dynamics and politics are one thing. Personal interactions are another.)_

 

Rather a good observation.

 

Asher raised a question that was… disturbing. _(If she can heal me, can she cure Lycanthropy? That is a question that will occur to our Richard, if it has not already.)_

 

Yea… A chance to not be one of the monsters. But that would mean losing the pack, and us.

 

 _(Perhaps…)_ Answered Jean-Claude _(but… these rules… one wonders if one is locked in as her familiar, and as my servant.)_

 

I then just listened to Asher and Jean-Claude discussed politics as Aster observed…

 

( _Either way Jean-Claude, your court dynamics have shifted. Intrigue will fill the air for a time. She showed social submission to the laws of the both the Pard and Lukoi, not to mention showing the Rodere respect. And by offering her throat to Anita, that will have people talking for a year at least as it shows submission to you and Anita as well. Few will understand as to the why as to her actions.)_

 

Yeah… I rather liked that. I take all kinds of crap from folks who think that I’m some kind of pushover because I’m Jean-Claude’s servant. And the bowing to the Rodere was a nice touch, even though it violated most were and vampire social norms.

 

 _(Which instantly caused stupidity in some.)_ Observed Jean-Claude _. (Haven came to the wrong conclusion and thought her weak. He expressed his power only to find forbearance is not weakness.)_

_(It was time that that arrogant kitty got a spanking. He thinks too highly of himself... Such a common flaw of most lions.)_ Mentally sniffed Asher. _(So pleasant to see all of them with their tails between their legs. That Japanese werelion is the largest such creature I have ever behold; one wonders at just how large his actual beast is. But most annoying was the disrespect from Narcissus, to not come, to send only one representative, and then to make such an offer without consulting m… us was both rude and impertinent, not to mention harmful to my own, and your, interests.)_

 

_(You played it well my friend, reluctant assistance; the hyenas have lost face with the other weres over this, not to mention with her, and are now in your debt.)_

 

_(The Rodere were much better at their maneuvering... a non gift that was accepted. One wonders what non gift she might give in return. And one wonders how soon before she receives similar attentions from others.)_

 

_(I suspect her very acceptance of the offer was gift enough. She is of Pard, Lukoi, and vampire clans, but she trains with the Rodere? Who will wish to offer the Rodere, or Rafael, offense when a Dragon might get involved? It was well played. I suspect we will see additional attentions from the Rodere.)_

 

_(And Kelly?)_

 

Jean-Claude did one of those Gallic shrugs that the French do so well _. (The lions are divided internally. Strong, oui, but Haven rules them with far too harsh a hand. Yet now Kelly is dear to Damian, a newly made Master Vampire with lion as his animal to call. How… totally non coincidental I would observe. Haven may rule the Pride but… now I think Kelly just became a pomme de sang in true fact. He will have to be cautious, and to offer Damian offense would be to offer us, and Magik, offense. Which would be strike two, and likely three, as ma petite is want to say, all at once.)_

 

Politics can be such a bitch. Offend the bonded servant and you may be offering offense to the master as well, and in vampire and were society, ignoring an insult is always but always taken as a sign of weakness.

 

_(One wonders what the other vampire Masters of Cities of America will do?)_

 

_(The Council is coming here, they will stay away if they can.)_

 

_(Nonsense. Expect offers, my friend… expect offers from both them and other were clans. Auggie will contact you soon, as well as Samuel. Likewise the Master of Las Vegas, although he will do it for other reasons.)_

 

_(Yes… he will likely wish to put the little disagreement over Anita taking Tigers from him in the strong past tense.)_

 

_(And the Tigers have no presence here. They will be concerned as they already find Anita most… disconcerting. I predict a delegation will extend a request for an invitation so as to get a close look at her. Likely from multiple clans. And they may include one or more Little Queens who are willing to get… close.)_

 

I also have the weretiger lycanthrope virus even though I don’t shift, several different kinds as it turns out that there are white, blue, golden, red, plain, black, and all very clannish in that they don’t really associate with other were groups.

 

Asher then raised a question of… _(Malcolm?)_

 

Malcolm was the head of the vampire Church of Eternal Life, a fast growing denomination. A church that absolutely could give you eternal life. All you had to do was become a vampire.

 

A flash of irritation from Jean-Claude. _(He has been wont to call ma petite a whore and a practitioner of black magic. I felt it best he not attend tonight’s meet and greet.)_

_(Then this Magik will certainly have him running screaming from her presence.)_ Was Asher’s darkly humorous reply. _(I ask that you allow me to be in attendance when they are introduced, I would hate to miss his expression.)_

 

_(Yes… but they do need to meet… privately. I shall make inquires as to convenient times for her and for him.)_

 

I just had to inject _. (Tell him to not call her a demonic whore. I think she currently has a very low tolerance threshold for such insults. Plus I want to be there as well. Let’s see how he reacts to seeing real black magic.)_ Yeah, the insults from him still bugged me.

 

_(I shall ma petite. The fact that he once used such terms to refer to you, and us all, still rankles me. He has never been repaid for his public insolence, his words have a price that others have paid, one supposes that now he will need to eat what he has served.)_

 

Ahh politics… gods how I hate it.

 

Well… enough dilly dallying. We walked over to Illyana and Jason; and we heard the tail end of their conversation as she said.

 

_“… I somehow don’t think I’d be allowed into the establishment, underage I suspect.”_

 

Which prompted a minor laugh from Jason. _“Like anybody would card you. One glare and that’s it.”_

 

Jason made a good point. And why did I all of a sudden keep picturing Jason with dark skin? He was about as fair skinned as you could get.

 

We called everybody over, and then it was Jean-Claude’s turn.

 

 

**Part 19c: Master of St. Louis**

 

She grumbled as she stared at Jean-Claude, then asked. _“Any dark secrets nobody knows about that involve secret powerful enemies who will take this opportunity to attack only to then be utterly destroyed?”_

 

Ok, she was in a mood, can’t blame her. Tonight was definitely shaping up to be beyond interesting and dangerous at the same time. Two major baddies and we were far from being done.

 

 _“None that have not already paid a visit or are already part of the Council’s various courts.”_ Replied Jean-Claude with a laugh that felt like a stroke of silk on my skin.

 

I noticed that she appeared to also react to his voice as she again slightly blushed. Yeah… Jean-Claude’s voice sometimes feels like he’s caressing your naked body, and I don’t mean your elbow.

 

 _“Don’t do that.”_ She chastised him.

 

Jean-Claude gave a graceful minor bow. _“Apologies, I attempted nothing, it is just part of what I am.”_

 

She gave a little shiver. Yeah, I understood that shiver, sometimes his voice is like liquid caresses.

 

She then declared to the roof. “ _For the record. I’m grumpy, hungry, and getting a headache. The next entity that attacks tonight dies in the most painful way I can come up with. And then I will consume them.”_

Sounded like a joke but… no. That was no joke, and the rest of us were in definite agreement with her.

 

Again she did walked about the subject of scrutiny, and again I saw equations inscribed within circles, glyphs, and other glowing writing surrounding Jean-Claude, more so then Asher. She continued to stare and tiny stars came in to existence, like a small cloud with Jean-Claude at the center. Some were brighter then others, and the stars were all kinds of colors. They all circled Jean-Claude, some in tight orbits, others in long elliptical, others just hovering at the edges. I decided these must represent the vampires blood oathed to Jean-Claude. There were also two bright stars that orbited close by Jean-Claude, no real need to guess what those represented.

 

She kept walking around Jean-Claude, carefully examining him, and as she did this I tried to see more, attempted to use her vision to show me… herself. It appeared to work as I saw… parts of her I suppose. Jean-Claude's rules were dwarfed by hers. Her’s were vast, complicated, and she had her own cloud of stars with seven bright stars circling very close and… her rules… looked… damaged? As if major chunks were missing and had been repaired, like holes in a wall you’ve spackled over, lots of different types of spackle to stretch the analogy. And yet there were cracks in some of the circles, half erased glyphs, and some of her rings of glyphs looked broken, missing parts, and I got the sense that some things that should have been there were just completely missing. I think she sensed my peeking, and suddenly it was just Jean-Claude's rules that I could see again.

 

Just like with the other vampires she had Asher and Damian positioned on either side of Jean-Claude as he prepared to take blood from Jason. Richard inquired with a tone of resignation… _“I assume we’ll be experiencing more memories?”_

 

 _“Yes.”_ Was her absent minded reply. The assurance of it made me, and I’m sure the rest of the guys, conclude that she was doing it somehow. Before I had a chance to complain about that, the links flared fully open again as Jean-Claude took blood from Jason.

 

As with the others, a pulse of power went though his equations and several new symbols blossomed into existence while simultaneously his shadow manifested again. And yet again more memories…

 

…

_It’s cold… she brings the warmth._

_I hunger… she feeds me._

_I cry… she comforts me._

_Mamma…_

_…_

_…_

_We are poor… and Mamma sells me to the Montdidiers._

_They are a great family._

_I am to be a friend to their son, Diodore._

_Where once I lived on dirt floors, now I walk upon wood._

_I dress as Diodore dresses._

_I eat as Diodore eats, apart from formal family meals._

_I am educated as Diodore is._

_I learn proper manners, as Diodore learns._

_But I am not Diodore._

_I am his whipping boy. When he is to be punished, it is my back that receives the switch._

_The blows._

_The pain._

_The scars._

_The reminder of what I am… of what I was…_

_Only later, do I truly understand the sacrifice Mamma made for me._

_How she gave me up not for just money, but for the chance to be not as I was born._

_I hated her for that… and… later… how I loved her for it._

_But still there is the hate for the loss of my Mamma._

_…_

_…_

_I grow to be a man._

_I take a wife, we are happy for a brief time._

_She dies in birthing our child, who dies as well._

_I grieve…_

_…_

_…_

_Lessette has made me a monster._

_A drinker of blood._

_But worse… I burn… burn with desire for others!_

_To feed upon more then just blood._

_I need to feed upon more then just blood or I shall go mad!_

_They… enjoy tormenting me._

_Preventing my feeding of this thing called the Ardeur…_

_I meet Julian, a Master of the City._

_He brings me those to feed upon… the diseased, the maimed, the horrid._

_Yet I must feed, or go mad…_

_I feed… and something slowly dies within me._

_How I hate this life._

_…_

_…_

_Bella…_

_She has brought me to her court._

_I am fair, and have blue eyes that she desires, I complete some collection she has created from the palest of blue to the deepest, which is I._

_I am still but a thing, a possession… but…_

_This cage is most pleasant compared to my prior torments._

_I meet one named Aster, I dislike his dark glances of envy…_

_He is fair of form but… is forever jealous of others._

_Of me._

_I worship Bella, as she has shown me how to control this Ardeur._

_How to ride it, rather then it ride me._

_…_

_…_

_Lovers…_

_Aster and I are lovers…_

_Who could ever have imagined such a thing._

_And united with Julianna…_

_I again know true love for a while._

_…_

_…_

**_Disaster!_ **

**_Loss!_ **

_Mamma has died… and my family has driven me forth in hate as to my form when I came to visit her upon the news of her declaim and impending death._

_Then… I learn that the Church has Aster and Julianna!_

_I ride like the wind, three horses die beneath me only to find…_

_Julianna is to burned at the dawn and I must hide from the SUN that rises._

_Rises NOW!_

_God how I hate the SUN! I must hide from it or I shall perish!_

_Sleep the day away in the earth._

_Only to find Julianna… gone..._

_Aster horrible maimed and dying._

_I slew all those I found…_

_And somehow get Aster back to Bella, and the council._

_…_

_…_

_He lives…_

_He blames me…_

_He hates me…_

_It is just… for do I not hate myself?_

_If only… that is what torments me… if only._

_Two years I live in a box, no blood, no Ardeur feeding._

_I turn into a mummy… numb to all but the pain of my hunger, and the silver that binds me to the coffin I lay within._

_Then… Bella brings me back._

_To be a plaything for the council._

_To serve as they will…_

_To once again be degraded… a thing for the amusement of others._

_But… He lives!_

_I tell myself it was worth it._

_But I leave once my hundred years of service are done._

_He hates me… he will always hate me._

_Augustine helps me to find safe passage to the new world._

_…_

_…_

_Are all of us monsters?_

_Must we be?_

_Is it our curse? Or do we inflict it upon each other?_

_This Nikolaos, my Master… is a foul thing._

_I bide my time and…_

_I am finally free._

_And I find Anita…_

_…_

_…_

_She vexes me!_

_She frustrates me!_

_She mocks me!_

_She flees from me!_

_And…_

_What am I to do?_

_I… put away all that I am for her…_

_I woo her as if I were once again a mortal._

_I win in the end, but not by my hand, but by Richards deeds…_

_…_

_…_

_Aster returns…_

_We find… a kind of peace…_

_She helps us find it._

_She is the reason we can finally speak to each other._

_We love her…_

_…_

And then it was over. We shook ourselves from the wash of memories, and noticed that now Jean-Claude had a shadow that was black as night, but wearing a high colored cloak.

 

 _“That’s going to have its uses.”_ Illyana commented as she stared at the shadow and at Jean-Claude’s rotating rules.

 

She explained to us that apparently Jean-Claude could now manifest and control his shadow if he so willed. A talent he demonstrated by standing still and having his shadow walk about the room. Apparently he could see and hear with his shadow as well. The downside being he had to stand still and do nothing while concentrating on his shadow, and the shadow could only move as fast he had could walk or run.

 

Ok, that has interesting implications, Richard had chuckled over something as Illyana had explained.

 

Then Illyana suddenly got a mischievous glint in her eye and grasped one of Jean-Claude’s symbols and squeezed hard with a burst of power. The glyph changed slightly, and so did Jean-Claude’s shadow; it now was in the shape of a bat.

 

A bat… I mean… what on earth prompted that?

 

 _“A bat? How… cliché.”_ I attempted to chastise her. I mean really… so Bela Lugosi. What’s next, talking about the music from the children of the night?

 

My rebuke apparently meant nothing to her as she just smiled in amusement, and Richard suspiciously kept chuckling. But… she’d just changed his rules. And our suspicions were now confirmed. She was trying to not only guide what was happening, but to shape it as well, and apparently she could to some extent.

 

And Richard had seen that she could truly do it.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Been awhile as I’ve been focusing on Top Gear X and Pride, Prejudice, Illyana, and Zombies (both of those stories are approaching their conclusions). When I first started this work I had no idea just how serious it would become (at least I think it’s serious).
> 
> The character of Richard Zeeman, one of the main Anita Blake storyline characters, has always been interesting. He accidentally became a werewolf because he took an experimental vaccine against lycanthropy only to become the very thing he feared so much. Supposedly his resistance to his own supernatural nature parallels Anita's resistance to hers in the early novels. If Jean-Claude and Asher represent the side of Anita that fully accepts her darker nature, then Richard represents the side that cannot accept it.
> 
> A reminder that a component of this kind of writing is making sure that Illyana does not become a Mary Sue type of character (google it if you don’t understand the reference). Can‘t have her being an all powerful, flawless creatures having no stories to tell (as I’ve said before, Godzilla vs. bambi is a short film).

**Part 20a: Richard part 1**

Okay… I thought. Three down and four to go. I supposed it was time for the Weres and I.

 

Illyana announced that the next session would take place outside at a location that she’d already selected and that the presence of the others (Jason, Remus, and Kelly) were not needed or desired. All of whom had the intelligence to not protest, although Kelly and Damian were really touchie feelie so that took a bit of a time as there was a long goodbye between the two of them. It was so obvious that they were now an item; which made me feel rather happy for Damian as he really tends to get the least attention from me.

 

While Kelly and Damian were saying goodbye, Nathaniel asked a question of her. _“What was the strangest place you’ve ever been to?”_ I suppose he was thinking Wonderland. Turns out that girl must have been to all kinds of odd places.

She got a slight frowny squinty face for a few seconds as she thought, then replied. _“The bearded dimension. Looked just like my old home dimension, people and all, but everybody had beards.”_

_“All the men had beards?”_ Was Nathaniel’s reply.

_“No, everybody had beards, men, women, babies, pets, animals, aliens, space critters, trees, everything.”_

_“That’s… weird.”_ Was his unsurprisingly hesitant reply.

_“Yeah… hated me there as well, demon is one thing but beardless? That’s crossing one line two many.”_

Okay, not sure if she’s pulling our legs. Somehow I think she’s telling the truth, which is even stranger.

Kelly finally departed, but before we teleported Richard asked a question, or to be more precise, the question. He asked politely, was calm, and the question was spoken quietly, but we all heard.

_“Can you? This must be how Aster felt when you ignored him mentally. Can you?”_

An expression of resigned perseverance crossed her face. _“I did not answer because Ms. Blake has set the social rules. Such private conversations are a source of annoyance to her and her annoyance trumps yours.”_

Well that’s good to know that my rules are still in force, but I was beginning to wonder just why? Yeah… we all got our insecurities and all that blonde hotness is just one of mine. I know my men keep telling me that I’m the center of their lives but… the past always lingers.

 

Illyana continued. _“The short answer is no. You are one of my familiars. I cannot change such a fundamental aspect of you.”_

I internally braced myself, but Richard surprised me as he remained calm. _“And healing Asher was not? Changing Jean-Claude’s shadow to a bat because I thought that it would be funny was not?”_

_“No. Such things are cosmetic, not intrinsic. I could change your fur color, but not your animal.”_

A half smiling sad look from Richard. _“I thought as such. Don’t… know what I’d do anymore if you actually had the ability. Guess I’m getting too comfortable being a monster.”_

 

Illyana had a look of slight puzzlement as she replied. _“And you think not being a were would make you less of a monster?”_

 

And now Richard lost the sad look and the all too familiar look of growing anger replaced it. Looks like I’m not the only one who knows how to say the wrong thing.

 

 _“Yes.”_ Was his half growled answer.

_“But everybody is a monster.”_ Was her reply. _“You all are. You always were. Everybody is. Unlike me your intrinsic nature does not make you evil, you get a choice. You get to choose whether you behave as one or not.”_

Arguments that we had all made to Richard. Arguments that he had always rejected. Arguments that he still didn’t look very receptive to.

 

 _“And your point.”_ Was his sarcastic reply _. “Going to out monster us? Show just how evil you are? How Anita is just a happy homemaker compared to you?”_

Yep, angry Richard had the mike yet again. At least he was yelling at her and not me.

_“No.”_ Was her terse reply.

There was a flash of light and we were all now in the woods under the night sky.

**Part 20b: Richard part 2**

The night air was chilly. Scattered tall trees loamed over us and the overall scent was of a pine forest. Felt like we were at a much higher elevation. Definitely not Thonnos Rokke lands.

 

Dark sky, night sounds, and not a hint of human inhabitation.

_“Just as the Vampires needed to take blood, the three of you need to kill and partake of flash and blood.”_ Illyana announced with a cold tone, rather obvious that Richard’s little outburst had annoyed her. _"I will examine you before the kill, and then provide a deer for each of you; please slay it quickly. I will be examining you again afterwards, likely while you are eating.”_

_“Because we’re just monsters right?”_ Answered Richard. _“Beasts. Just fit to kill.”_

_“You’re weres. This is what you do every full moon.”_ Was her reply. _“What is the big deal?”_

 

Richard kicked off his shoes and began to take his shirt off. _“That’s by choice, this isn’t. Just monster on command I suppose.”_

_“By choice, your hairy.... The moon rules you, on those nights, you need to turn, you need to feed. If we leave it until then, and if there are any problems, I assure you that they will manifest in the worst possible fashion. I need this to be done while I am able to observe and can attempt to mitigate any potential harm. This needs to be done while I’m calm and in control. You need to do this now because I’m currently calm and in control. Don’t make this more difficult then it needs to be.”_

 

Shirt gone, he began to remove his pants. He was not wearing underwear; most weres don't as getting out of your clothing when you need to shift can be a pain so less is tends to be the norm.

 

 _“Because you care?”_ He folded his clothes neatly, the air temperature not bothering him anymore than his nudity. Weres have very little nudity issues, although… I got the sense that he was throwing it in her face. Exposing himself as a kind of statement.

 

Illyana sounded exasperated rather then concerned. _“Because you are tied to me and harm to you is harm to me. I’m attempting to prevent you from being harmed.”_ She began to circle him, and he began turning in place, ensuring his front was toward her. Just he his back was turned to us he started idly scratching his balls. Oh gods… I thought. Richard… not now…

The symbols and glyphs and whatnot I was expecting to start appearing didn't. Instead Illyana stopped and stared at Richard's face. _"What are you doing?"_

 

 _"You're the one who decided that I need to kill something."_ Richard said with an angry grin. _"There's another way to raise power; you've already done it once with us."_

 

I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. What had happened with Illyana, to us, had been anything but willing, and had had nothing to do with raising power. To say nothing of the fact that raising power wasn't what Illyana was attempting to do. Why was Richard suddenly being so crude and cruel. The gasps and sighs of the others told me they were all equally dismayed. I hate to say it, but Richard just always finds a way to do the wrong thing.

 

He was pissed, and now so was I. _“Damn it Richard? What's gotten into you?"_

_“Such words are beneath you my friend.”_ Sighed Jean-Claude.

 

I expected Illyana to be either even more pissed, or in some form of repulsed. Instead, she studied him like he was a particularly interesting example of something.

 

" _Interesting. Are you aware, Mr. Zeeman, that your eyes have changed? And not to those of a wolf, either...."_ She began to pace around him again, as he stood there, uncertain, back still towards us _. "As for your rather juvenile attempts to discomfit me by playing with yourself? I thought you were an adult. Monsters of course don't care about such things; they want what they want, and others don't matter. But I thought you wanted to be better than that. But more fool me."_

 

The waves of power Richard had started projecting simply… stopped, as what Illyana said sank in. Deeply.

 

I then had a moment of epiphany. _“Richard, you don’t want me to see you kill and feed... do you.”_ Was my soft question as my anger faded.

 

His voice was that tired, defeated monotone that I associated with his clinical depression coming on. Not good. _“No. That’s when I lost you. When you saw me… the pack… feed.”_

 

Richard was correct. I thought I could handle it. I _said_ I could handle it. Said that I could accept his true nature. Felt that I could. I told Richard to embrace his beast and that I would be there for him. I had been so certain.

 

Then he sifted into his half wolf from right on top of me and I learned differently.

 

I was wrong.

 

I couldn’t accept it.

 

I couldn’t accept his beast.

 

Richard had just killed Marcus in a fight to the death for control of the Lukoi, that’s when he became Ulfric of the Throonos Rokke clan. They… the werewolves have a ritual for dead werewolves. It involves incorporating the dead and slain into their mystical mind as it were, their racial memory.

 

They… They eat their dead, the only weres that do.

 

Richard, in his wolf man form, ripped the still quivering heart from Marcus and had eaten it right in front of me. And the rest of the Lukoi had started to consume the remainder of the body. And they wanted me to feed as well if I were willing to embrace all that his beast was. To be one with their pack. To share his beast. To hunt with them, kill with them, feed with them.

 

I was so revolted.

Disgusted.

Terrified.

I… I felt like I was just food.

Prey.

 

And they loved my fear, it was like an appetizer to them. Big bad Executioner was terrified of them and they loved it. I was just a human back then. Just a necromancer. Not one of the monsters… not yet. And a human being who commits cannibalism and then dies is one breath of power away from becoming a revenant, an uncontrolled flesh-eating zombie. God alone knew what a reanimated necromancer werewolf might be.

 

I did the only thing I could.

 

I fled.

 

They all shifted to full wolf form and hunted after the feeding.

 

The feel of Richard’s power had been so seductive, right up to the point they ate Marcus.

 

I… I had recoiled. I couldn’t face it. People don’t eat people, but… weres do. Richard did. Richard had done so before. Only dead wolves of the Throonos Rokke clan but… I just couldn’t take it.

 

It was a testament to Richard's strength of will and control over the pack that they had not taken up my unintended challenge, hunted me down, and eaten me as well. That night had been the night I slept with Jean-Claude. Richard had been my fiancée, and I abandoned him because I just couldn’t cope. The one two punch of my rejection of Richard, and concomitant acceptance of Jean-Claude, had devastated Richard and driven him to a host of self-destructive if not frankly suicidal actions. It had taken him a very long time to admit and accept that, monster and all, he wanted to live.

 

_“I’m sorry Richard, I’ve apologized before. I wish I could take it back. But I can’t.”_

 

A soft reply, almost a plea. _“Why is it ok for Micah, but not me?”_

 

Micah answered Richard’s question in a neutral but non -judging tone. _“Because of your behaviors at the time, Richard. You refused to accept her Ardeur, you drove everyone away. That, and because after she became infected with the lycanthrope virus and the ardeur , she needed us as much as we needed her, even though she's unable to change form. She's more accepting now because she has her own Hungers… the Ardeur, and the hungers of her beasts.”_

 

I spoke for myself. _“I understand now.”_

 

Yeah… I understand the monsters so much better now that I was one. Lucky me.

Richard asked a question, to me I suppose _. “Yet taking blood ok.”_ Reference to the vampires I guess.

 

For a long time I’d refused to share blood with any vampire, not even Jean-Claude. I found it monstrous. But… not anymore. Again another part of me that had change, or been worn away.

 

I gave him an equally neutral reply. _“Yes, it is, Richard it’s… it just is. My necromancy means the undead can never horrify me the way you did that night, because I instinctively understand them. Lycanthropy... I just wasn’t prepared for what a were truly is. I… was wrong to ask what I asked of you. We should have… taken that easier… Slower. I was very very wrong.”_

 

Richard just hung his head in pain. _“Micah, you have what I so want. When she needed me the most, when I had a chance to get her back, I rejected her just as she had me. I found the ardeur to be just as monstrous as she found the pack to be. I rejected her, and drove her away, and so I lost her for a second time. Lost her to you Micah. Because you could do what I wouldn’t… couldn’t.”_

A sniffle. _“And Anita... I should never have rejected you for the ardeur, for what it drove you to... I had no right to judge you, Anita. I am so sorry..."_

 

Richard's answer broke something open in my soul, an abscess of hurt I hadn't dared to go near for a long time. It wasn't angry, just wretched and sad at what we had lost, at what we kept doing to each other. What we always do to each other.

 

I suppose Richard and I then had a good cry as we then hugged. A hug that was slowly joined by everybody present, apart from Illyana that is. It felt good. Things could never be as they once were, as they might have been. As we both had so wanted. But this was good. And maybe, just maybe, we could finally find a way to stop hurting each other.

 

The group hug lingered, then a cough from her.

 

_“Ahem.”_

 

Bitch.

 

I knew what she was trying to say. But still… bitch.

**Part 20c: Richard part 3**

 

Richard simply stood there as Illyana once again began to pace around him. Glyphs and symbols flowed into visibility as she did, following their orbits around him, along with a veritable cloud of lights that I belatedly realized was each its own set of miniaturized orbital structures that defined another person, one of the pack I assumed. There were two far more complex orbital systems that orbited the totality of him, and one looked familiar; as I studied it, I realized it was Jean Claude. That likely meant the other set was me... but even as I realized that, my attention was ineluctably drawn back to the patterns that comprised Richard. None of the symbols were the same as those I'd seen before; it was as if these were of a different font, far more cheerfully colorful and mutable. The thought drifted across my consciousness; of course, because Richard is alive but there was so much more to him. An entire secondary set of orbits were present, colors incongruously pale and pastel, although the sigils were somehow more violent. His were, his beast it occurred to me, those rules were pale because they were in abeyance and not active. But there was a third set that rode the second, somehow; ghostly, almost utterly devoid of color, difficult to focus on... and infinitely more frightening. I had seen that font before... in the sigils surrounding Illyana herself. They smoked, and some appeared to somehow be either on fire or of fire... but no fire that belonged in nature. Their totality of meaning, I had no idea... but… they felt… empty, yet filled with burning power.

 

The lightshow ended, and Illyana stepped back, gesturing to Richard to keep him from following.

 

_"Alright, Mr. Zeeman. I have an idea of what's likely to occur. I will now summon a deer; please make your kill as quickly as you can. Ms. Blake this will be bloody and likely upsetting so you might want to look away."_

Part of me wanted to, but… the rest of me felt I needed to watch. Had to watch. Sorry… was more then just a word. It should have a price.

 

Richard nodded, tensed, and a few yards away from him a portal flared and dropped a male deer into the clearing. It landed, head darting as it tried to get its bearings, preparing to run.

 

And Richard, still in human form, pounced upon it, grabbing its antlers close to its head and twisting viciously even as he rode the body to the forest floor. A muffled but clearly audible crack signified the deer’s death. And Richard, still riding the deer's death throes, darkened somehow, as if he was suddenly browning in some invisible oven. In my mind's eye, those ghostly lines of runic script erupted into actuality, blazing themselves with sudden intensity, changing him...

 

And an enormous eruption of flames erupted from Richard's body, his entire form combusting. My scream of mingled rage and horror was dwarfed by the raving bellow of agony that impossibly morphed into the most haunting wolf-howl I had ever heard, as much felt in the soul as in the ears.

 

Then…

 

A coal-black wolf the size of a small horse stood over the still smoking ribs of the deer's blackened skeleton, all of the flesh had been consumed in the blaze of hellfire. Reddish smoldering highlights danced over the coarse fur as he, absolutely and impressively male, looked around, flaming eyes surveying us all. Its mouth opened, gleaming iron grey fangs framing its lolling purple-grey tongue, and a flaming glow showed in the back of his throat like a banked fire. Claws the color of blood-rusted metal crushed immolated bone as it approached, and a pleased rumble sounded as it then sat before us.

 

 _"Outstanding...!"_ reverberated thru my head. It sounded like Richard, a Richard stripped of all self-doubt and all restraints. Rage given form. Somehow I was no longer horrified. Scared yes, only a fool would not gaze upon such and feel no apprehension, but no… horror.

 

He was a hell hound. I had never seen one, but I knew what I was seeing. He shifted back to his human form and for a moment his eyes still glowed with a red light. He again looked uncertain, not meeting my gaze.

 

The long moment of conversational silence ended as Illyana commented. _“Rather impressive Mr. Zeeman, congratulation on a third were form. Fire proof as well. As I said before, just makes a kind of sense.”_

I then did what I had once been unable to do. What I suppose the old human me could never have done. I walked over and gave Richard a tight hug of acceptance. And as I hugged Richard I felt a sense of envy on the links from her. Envy and confusion.

 

Envy of our humanity. And confusion about it.

 

 

**Part 20d: Thoughts**

 

As I hugged Richard I sent her a private message.

 

_(Why no memories this time?)_

__

She sent back. _(Because Richard so wished that to not happen. He was terrified of it. That you’d find yet another reason for rejecting him. Sharing equates to rejection I suppose. I can relate. His… desire motivates me to put forth the effort to block memory spillover on all you. That and I’m getting better at this.)_

My tone sharpened, and I got a bit nasty. Still upset at seeing Richard on fire _. (Better at sinking your hooks into us?)_

 

Tones of anger right back at me from her. _(Rather the reverse Ms. Blake. This is me giving up on locking you and yours out. You are my familiars, bits of your soul now resonates within the void of my soul absence. Altering what I was into what I now am. A me that is not her and never can be.)_

Then there was pity in her tone, that and rebuke. Pity always makes me angry, of course, anger is partially my default state. She continued.

 

_(I don’t know who was more stupid. You Ms. Blake or Mr. Zeeman. Of course you would reject him, how could you not? The monster always gets rejected.)_

_(Don’t you start lecturing me…)_ I began hotly. _(You weren’t there, you can’t possible understand…)_

She interrupted me with a mental growl that sounded like a wolf. _(But I was there as I dealt with the flood of what he is. And I see the shear stupidity of his hope. And your blind arrogance about things you knew nothing of. Promises you could not, would not keep. Shards, no wonder she always tried to hid what she was… always rejected whenever the truth was shown…)_

A pause, then she continued _. (Except Kitty… Kitty never rejected her or ran or…)_

She went silent and turned away, leaving me fuming, and yet feeling guilty. Great, rebuked by a demon. What’s next?


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Opps, forget to give credit to LordGrise on the last chapter, he did a major rewrite of the Richard transformation scene (three cheers for LordGrise, Anitaverse police and contributor!) Plus, he had major influence in this chapter is significant as he was the one urging that a softer tone needs to be taken by all involved.
> 
> A critical Anita Blake story element is her almost bottomless rage and anger. The death of her mother, the behaviors of her father as he grieved, and his remarrying. Anita’s perceived rejections (real and imagined) of her step mother. Her zombie rising powers manifesting, causing all kinds of family issues. A fiancée who abandoned her because of his raciest parents once they learned that her mother was Hispanic. All these components helped shape and form the Anita Blake of fiction. Anita Blake is a hurricane of rage, but Illyana is easily her match in the rage category; one of the few who can. I am so looking forward to the part of this story when Anita truly taps into Illyana’s rage.
> 
> I lifted some words from the anitablake wiki on lycanthropes for this chapter (one should always give credit, oh, their web site is great). Mostly for none Anita Blake readers of this story.

**Part 21a: Here kitty kitty…**

Gods, the hug with Richard was good. Two back to back hugs with no shouting between us. And… well… he was naked both times. Mmmm I like all my men but Richard is the most buff, so yummy, so… Richard.

And unlike the last group hug this one was just Richard and I. Tight against his warm body, the contrast with the cold air delightful. Tenderness, not possessive, not demanding, just… loving. Just made me want to…

 

Make love. Or more crudely, screw his brains out.

 

And I could feel that Richard felt the same way, both emotionally, and with what was poking me as little Richard became much less little.

 

Thankfully no verbal interruptions from Illyana as she was busy discussing things with the Micah and Nathaniel and apparently resolutely ignoring Richard and I. Nathaniel was asking if he and Micah could do the ritual at the same time; which was apparently a big no no according to Illyana. Too much to for her to keep track of as she supposedly only had a few moments to prevent any bad mojo from happening.

 

The vampires were still, likely just observing and talking silently to each other.

 

 _(Gods, she can be such a bitch.)_ I mentally groused to Richard. I was still pissed off about her comments about how stupid I’d been about Richard’s lycanthropy. Comments that hit home, comments that reflected what I already knew. The truth hurts, or so the saying goes; and yeah… it does.

 

 _(She must be a graduate of the same school you attended.)_ Mused back Richard.

 

 _(Huuu? In what way?)_ Was my reaction.

 

A sense of ut-oh from Richard and a slight tensing. Can’t blame him, we both can just somehow find a way to say the wrong thing at the wrong time and considering our track record his sudden tensing made sense. Plus he’s a guy and men just are men at times when it comes to talking to a woman.

 

I sent some assurances _. (It’s ok, you didn’t say anything wrong, but… in what way?)_

 

I felt Richard chew on it as it were then carefully pick his words. _(She keeps pushing people away. Just like you used to and still do from time to time. Plus, she has the same vibe you had back then, that concern about having relationships; almost like how you…. That feeling of that she doesn’t deserve good things that you used to have. Plus… you know how you’re concerned that you might be a sociopath?”_

Not just concerned, that part of me was there… but... I was less concerned now.

_(Yeah…?)_

_(Maybe… what she is… is what you dodged.)_

 

I thought upon that, upon how I’d used to be before… before love, before the men in my life. Men, not man, men. Just is when you’re a living sexual vampire and casual sex with strangers is not one of my kinks as it were. Sex is intimacy and regrettably feeding as well. It’s part of my nature, by beliefs, that sex is supposed mean more then just pleasure and feedings. Speaking of which, still not feeling any hunger from the _ardeur_ , that has to be her doing, just like Belle Morte said.

 

I sent back. _(Because I have people in my life…)_

 

_(Yeah… She feels like Edward, only…)_

_(Only what?)_

_(Scarier. Edward likes to kill, we can all feel it. All the weres and vampires can feel it. Even though he’s baseline human his Alpha as it were tops most people. He can intimidate the heck out people out, same as you, and same as her.”_

There are killers and there are sociopaths and psychopaths. That’s why I am scarier then most weres and vampires, that sociopaths part of me. I’m nicknamed the Executioner, Edward is Death. And yeah, I get the same feeling from her that Richard was describing. That she was a member of the same club.

_(Seventeen going on a thousand.)_ Was my reply.

A bit of self musing about Edward. Yeah, really need to try to keep Edward out of this, he did incinerate her after all. I know I’d be pissed about something like that, no telling what she might do.

I finally, reluctantly, untangled myself from Richard’s hug. I gave him a brief _“Later, if we’re both still in the mood”_ whisper and watched him dress. Gods… naked Richard just makes me lose IQ points, and he knows it. He dressed slowly, flexing and showing off his body to me. Mmmmmmm.

 

He finally finished and we rejoined the group. Nathaniel was already naked and ready for his turn. If Richard is the buff weight lifter, then Nathaniel is the tightly muscled swimmer’s body, with that beautiful hair that does down all the way to his knees. Sometimes, in bed, I just love to cover myself with his hair. Which sounds sensuous, and it is; but one must take care not to pull on the roots; not that he minds the pain, but the long hair is so much a component of his stripper act and accidentally ripping out chunks would be bad.

 

He’s my wife as it were, does most of the house work and makes our house a home. He’s also very romantic, but in the being woo’d kind of way. I’m pleased with his growing self confidence even if that does cause me some consternation at the things he requests (a submissive sexual masochist has needs that differ from my other men).

 

I muse a bit more as Illyana and Nathanial got ready. I… we… know so little of his childhood. His mother had died when he was young and his step father had turned very abusive when drunk. His older brother, Nicky, had been beaten to death by their step father when Nathaniel was seven. That’s when he ran away to live on the streets. Shards, a trickle of my internal rage awoke, he was a child prostitute by age ten.

 

Illyana started to walk around Nathaniel. As with Richard the glyphs and symbols flowed into existence around him; but much fewer then anybody to date. There were the two stars, one that looked the same as the one that had circled Richard so that must be me, the second could only be Damian. This was also a fuzzy haze about him, with one bright star in that haze; that… must the Pard and Micah. There were the rings and glyphs, the patterns that define him, his beast, and… her. Like with Richard there are those smoky rings and glyphs of blackness and fire.

 

Nathaniel has blocked out most of his early childhood in order to survive, but he has shared a little of it with me, with us. At some point in his late teens, Nathaniel was found by Gabriel (the former and now dead Nimir-Raj of the Pard). By that point, Nathaniel according to his own words, was a drug addicted prostitute, and was so submissive and masochistic that he was literally incapable of saying no to any torture proposed to him. Strange, I loathed Gabriel, that sadistic evil bastard, yet even vile people do some good. Gabriel turned helped Nathaniel stop taking drugs after he’d turned him into a were, and did his duty in making sure his new cats didn't kill anyone before they learned control of their beast, but he was unable or unwilling to address Nathaniel's other problems and simply pimped Nathaniel, only restraining customers from taking too much advantage of him. Nathaniel had played a role in Raina Wallis's porn movies (the now dead former Lupa of the werewolves), raping and hurting the werewolves, back when Gabriel was Nimir-Raj (Gabriel and Raina were two of the most foul people I’ve ever met).

 

Yet, despite being a sexual sadist and a lot of bad things, Gabriel had taken better care of Nathaniel than anyone had in a very long time, and even got Jean-Claude to help in teaching Nathaniel social graces. Gabriel had gotten Nathaniel to audition for the job at Guilty Pleasures (back when Jean-Claude had not been the head vampire), Nathaniel had thought he was there to sleep with Jean-Claude.

 

Jean-Claude taught Nathaniel how to be elegantly sexy onstage, and then continued to teach him which fork to use and not to tuck a napkin in his shirt collar. Nathaniel had received even more etiquette lessons at Gabriel's request, as one of Nathaniel's former regulars was very rich and wanted to take him to fancy places without anyone learning that he was a hooker or a stripper (yes he still strips, and no he no longer hooks, and yeah I get really pissed off at people who thinks he still does).

 

I’d killed Gabriel and Raina when they tried to have me star in my own personal snuff film where Gabriel attempted to rape and kill me (and I suspect eat my corpse as well). Which had resulted in my later becoming the owner of the Pard as the remaining wereleopards were just too weak to protect themselves, and to say that many of the werewolves had a bone to pick with the wereleopards would be an understatement, even if they had only done the things they’d done because Gabriel had made them. The two groups got along ok now, but there was always a sub current of tension from more then a few of the wolves.

 

Illyana stepped back and with a flash of light there was a deer. Unlike Richard who’d gone after the deer in human form, Nathaniel turned into his half human have leopard form and pounced on the deer. Again a snapped neck, likely they were all trying to kill the deer as fast a possible for my sake.

 

A bloody muzzle, tearing bites. And a silent thanks that Illyana was better at blocking memory flow. Nathaniel’s life had the most horrors of abuse, both as a child and as an adult. Just the thought of what had been done to him made me want to put a bullet in the head of his abusers…

 

Abusers…

 

Oh crap, Illyana had been…

 

That’s when memories and feelings from Nathaniel bleed into us. That… and the sounds of a female child screaming as the distorted swirl of memories overwhelmed us.

 

 

**Part 21b: Bad trip on memory lane**

**Pain!**

**Abuse!**

**Fear!**

**Suffering!**

** RAGE! **

Make it stop!

 

Please make it stop!

 

Make it stop and make the bastards pay!

 

**MAKE!**

**THEM!**

**PAY!**

 

 

**Part 21c: Nathaniel**

 

The memories of suffering retreated, leaving a blurry orange burning glow from the tears in my eyes. Shit, something was wrong. I wiped my eyes with my left hand and grasped my 9mm with my right hand. Several of the trees were in flames, casting orange light and flickering shadows.

Illyana was once again in her Darkchilde form and standing in a circle of fire that contained a burning pentagram with her at the center. Nathaniel, in his human form was standing before, her out side of her circle. They were arguing.

 

Nathaniel had that soft tone of voice he uses when he argues about something he’s resolute about. _“No Illyana, you can’t. This not right.”_

 

 ** _“They have to pay.”_ ** Was her plaintive reply. Less of a declaration and more like a plea, like she was somehow constrained by Nathaniel.

 

Rather obvious who “they” were, and what Illyana had been in the process of doing. I quickly scanned about. Just us, and the others were now recovering as well. We were in no apparent danger so I decided to observe for now as I holstered my gun, like things were delicately balanced.

 

Nathaniel sounded like he was trying to talk her off of a ledge or something. _“It’s not yours to do Illyana.”_

**_“They… what they did… to m… to you… to”_ **

_“It’s in the past. I’m… working though it. I have people who care about me now… It’s okay. I don’t want you to do what you’re trying to do. It’s… bad. Bad for you… and bad for… us.”_

Illyana mumbled, but we could all hear it. _“I swore…that nobody ever… got to do **that** to me… again.”_

And that’s a massive bull’s-eye on any theories about abuse.

Nathaniel kept soothing her, several of us took a step in their direction only to get a wave off by him.

 

_“They can’t. They didn’t. Don’t… do this.”_

He either finally convinced her, or somehow made her not do what she had been in the processes of doing. The fiery pentagon started to fade, and with that fading she transformed back to her human form and sank down to her knees. A flicker of flame and it was gone, and with it the flames in trees subsided to just a few burning spots and a few burning branches on the ground.

 

That’s when Nathaniel walked the few steps that separated them, dropped to his knees as well and gave her a hug. A hug that she tentatively returned, no tears that I could see from her, just the feeling of frustrated and suppressed rage.

 

Okay, the demon defiantly has demons was my thought.

 

**Part 21d: Campfires and conversations**

Richard stated the obvious. “ _I think we need another timeout.”_ A suggestion that we all agreed with.

 

We ended up sitting on the ground in a circle with a few burning branches in the middle, casting a warm golden glow over everybody; like we were all just camping. Richard had hesitantly poked at a burning branch with his hands, then had tentatively picked it, and a few others up, to form the fire; so the big yes on the fire proof.

 

Nathaniel was sitting next to her and I was on the other side of the circle. I suddenly got a weird craving for S’mores of all things, which is odd because I hate S’mores, but for some reason gram crackers with melted chocolate suddenly felt utterly tasty.

 

The suppressed rage coming off of her smelled delicious… no… Bad idea. So not taking a bite of that apple again.

 

As we all sat there I suddenly got a memory flash of a similar fire, but this time there was a purple dragon sitting next me and there were a bunch of adults and what looked like high school kids. And a very striking black woman with long white hair even thought she looked to be only in her late twenties or early thirties, with blue eyes of all things

 

I blinked and the image was gone. Just us around a fire.

 

I spoke a gentle “ _Can we… discuss what just happened?”_

Gentle because upset people respond better that way. I was rather positive I know, had to be PTS (Post Traumatic Stress). Nathaniel’s experiences are likely were far too close to her own. But better if she talks, which true for police procedures as well as for physiology; but for different reasons.

 

Silence as the fire crackled, I could see the fames in her eyes, but they looked different then the fire’s flames, not just reflections. Then a sigh as she started talking and the non reflected flames died out.

 

_“Nathaniel’s memories… resonated. I… guess I’m not getting the hang of this.”_

Jean-Claude spoke. _“Apologies Illyana… We should have warned you as to the history of our little cat.”_ Little cat a bit of a nickname for Nathaniel that only Jean-Claude uses, it’s not derogatory; Nathaniel loves it.

 

 _“What did Nathaniel block you from doing?”_ Prompted Damian.

 

Nathaniel responded. _“Cursing my abusers.”_

 

Illyana followed up on Nathaniel’s answer. _“It’s what I thought you all wanted. It… was what I wanted… really wanted.”_

Richard posed the delicate question. _“Cursing as in pain or hurt or cursing as in…”_

And sudden shadow play behind her as various fire cast flickering shadows morphed into little humanoid shadows writhing in torment as they burned away. Lasted just a few seconds but the message was clear as to the intent.

 

 _“Why did you stop?”_ Inquired Asher. _“You do not strike me as one who pauses when your mind is made up_. _Nathaniel forbid and you… obeyed? Or did he convince you?”_

She stared into the fire as she answered, or didn’t answer to be more precise. _“Both… neither… it’s complicated.”_

 

 _“So explain it.”_ Was my reply. _“Complicated does not mean you can’t explain it.”_

 

The conversation petered out as we all waited. Illyana poked at the fire with a stick for a bit before finally answering. _“I’ve never had a familiar, much less… seven. Your thoughts and feelings… I can’t always distinguish which are mine and which are yours.”_

_“The term familiar is more then a little derogatory.”_ Commented Micah.

 

 _“And the vampire term servant isn’t?”_ Was her reply.

 

Okay, that was a valid point. While many vampires cherish their servants, many also keep them in deep servitude, and many also abuse them. The vampire was the master of the relationship. And most servants are very involuntarily bounded into the relationship by the vampire.

 

A vampire bounds a servant with four marks. And until a servant has all four marks another, stronger, vampire can also mark a servant. And there are apparently ways to erase the marks, but only the Mother of Darkness knows how… and… now that I think of it; Illyana. Back when she’d first hired me, she had offered me the opportunity to erase the marks that I had with Richard and Jean-Claude if I so wished it.

 

 **First Mark:** The vampire shares its life essence with the servant. The first mark grants the human servant greater endurance, healing, speed and resistance to vampire mental powers, and an almost complete immunity to their own vampire's mental powers. Jean-Claude has a scarred back from when he was a whipping boy in his youth, he uses his vampire powers to cloud that from people, but is unable to hid it from me. And yes the incredible beauty that is the rest of him is completely real and not vampire powers.

 

 **Second Mark:** The second mark allows the vampire to draw power from the human servant, to experience food and drink consumed by the servant, and to enter the servant's dreams. Of high use if a vampire is unable to feed, energy is drawn from the servant and the servant gets the munchies (massive munchies, for both food and… well… for me feeding sexually as well; and yeah… that happened when Richard and Jean-Claude got badly hurt).

 

 **Third Mark:** The third mark is made by the vampire drinking the servant's blood. It grants the servant full endurance and allows the vampire and servant to communicate mentally even when awake.

 

 **Fourth Mark:** The fourth mark is made when the servant drinks the vampire's blood, cementing their bond. It conveys immortality to the servant, almost complete mental communication, and allows the servant to draw on the vampire's strength. I originally believed that this mark caused human servants to lose their souls, and I still lack the forth mark from Jean-Claude.

 

I’m not a vampire but I somehow bounded Nathaniel and Damien to me in a second triumvirate, and it happened all at once and no blood was exchanged. Don’t know if my triumvirate has all the benefits, but people are beginning to say I look well preserved for my age.

 

No idea how demon bounding works on a triumvirate, much less seven, but… apparently we all took her blood, and some flesh apparently by the weres and…gulp… me. That sounds really fourth mark’ish. And we appear to be drawing power from her… crap. But she didn’t drink our blood… I think. But she sure drank (a brief sexual image of her head between my legs…) … um… ok; let’s not go there.

 

 _“No.”_ Replied Jean-Claude about the servant comment. _“It denotes who is the center of the power focus. Damien and Nathaniel are Anita’s servants to use the word. Just as Anita and Richard are mine. Neither Anita or I engage in the level of subordination that many do.”_

Asher added a bit. _“And for some, servant is a fancy word for slave.”_

 

Yep. And not big on the idea of the whole “I too serve the master” thing that so many vampires like to say. An altitude that gets Jean-Claude quite a bit of flack from other powerful vampires (I’m unruly. Gee, who would have guessed). But they don’t have a necromancer as a servant, or bonded companion as some of us like to say (oh God, I sound politically correct all of a sudden. What’s next? Weres are lunarally challenged?)

 

Richard added. _“But a witch’s familiar is always an animal, or so I’ve read.”_

 

 _“I suppose…”_ Was her mumbled reply. _“But I’m not a witch, and you are not animals.”_

 

Asher asked again. _“Why did you listen to Nathaniel?”_

She gave us a glare, but it lacked impact. I supposed it’s hard to be the big bad with your familiars, crap now I’m using the word. Behind her, her shadow rubbed its forhead even though she didn’t move.

 

Then she spoke. _“Because he wanted me to not… because he chose to not… do evil. To not be like…”_ She left the rest unsaid but the intent was plain. Not be like her.

 

 _“So you listened to him.”_ Stated Micah.

 

 _“So… yeah, I listened to him.”_ Was her grudging reply, like it hurt to say it. _“Why is that so important?”_

 

 _“Because it means we’re not slaves.”_ Was my answer.

 

 _“You’re not.”_ Was her reply. _“But I fear that I am… unduly influenced by you.”_

_“Welcome to the club.”_ Was my reply.

 

Hmmm, I’m missing something… Nathaniel, that’s it. _“What happened to you Nathaniel after you… um… fed?”_

Nathaniel didn’t answer, instead he gave me a mischievous grin from across the fire as he stood up, stepped back a few steps and disrobed. He started to walk around our little circle and as he did he shifted to his full leopard form.

 

**INFO Interlude**

 

Time I guess for a few additional were facts. All lycanthropes have at least two forms - human and animal. Powerful lycanthropes can also assume a "hybrid" form that is bipedal with animal characteristics. Very powerful lycanthropes can even transform just a part of their body at will (for example, growing claws from their fingertips). Modern lycanthropes are much larger in animal form than their natural counterparts, but the size used to be identical to natural form in ancient strains that are still present in some rare lycanthropes who share the immortality of their vampire masters.

 

Changing between forms requires a great deal of energy. Most lycanthropes need to feed after changing to animal form (which was why I suppose Illyana, in part, had a deer ready). After returning to human form, lycanthropes usually collapse into a comatose state for several hours, the length of their recuperation depending on their power level. Very powerful lycanthropes do not need to feed immediately and won't collapse when changing back. Nathaniel was able to change more then most were’s of his power level because he was bounded to me and… bet you some fried dough, bounded to her now as well.

 

Back to info on weres. An upcoming transformation is preceded by a spike in body temperature. The transformation can be very painful, as bones and flesh reshape, although not fighting the transformation makes it easier. The transformation generates a hot, clear fluid that sometimes practically explodes around the transforming lycanthrope, usually leaving themselves clean and dry but covering everything else nearby. The goop is rather hard to wash out if it manages to dry into your hair (believe me, I so know from personal experience). The lycanthrope will be hungry immediately after transformation, and less powerful individuals may not be entirely in control of themselves until after they feed.

 

Most lycanthropes learn to control their transformations and learn to retain most of their reasoning ability even in the transformed state with practice. Even weak individuals can generally change shape almost at will, although they all must transform with the full moon. Strong emotions, pain, magic, vampiric powers, and mind-altering substances that work on lycanthropes can however erode that control, or even remove it entirely. Lack of control is usually seen as a sign of weakness in were society, so more dominant lycanthropes usually strive especially hard to master their urges. Lycanthropes that simply follow their instincts may command fear, but rarely any respect, and they usually end up getting put down by either human authorities (usually with the help of a vampire executioner like me or a bounty hunter) or the other preternatural beings of the area after they become too destructive and disruptive to tolerate.

 

A newly infected lycanthrope will likely experience their senses sharpening as well as a slight rise in their base body temperature. They may also gain some instincts typical for their particular type of lycanthropy even before their first transformation. It will usually take some time for them to master their newly increased speed and strength, and sex can be extremely hazardous to their partners, you don’t want to lose control of your beast when you orgasm, that usually results in the death of your sex partner and a one way trip to the execution chamber for you; and no, the law does not give a crap about extenuating circumstances) Kill a person in were or half were form and it’s an automatic death sentence). It's usual for a new lycanthrope to have very little control and no memory of their initial transformations, although they usually start to get better at both after a few times. It's the responsibility of their lycanthrope group to keep them in check during this learning period.

 

New lycanthropes generally start at the bottom of their lycanthrope group's internal hierarchy, and need to work their way up according to the customs of that lycanthrope group, their personal ambitions, and their power level (which may or may not increase over time). Well-functioning lycanthrope groups assist their new members in the adjustment to their new circumstances, but even badly-functioning ones usually at least keep the new lycanthropes from slaughtering anyone until they learn control; not doing such tends to result in villagers with pitchforks or more commonly now, people like me showing up.

 

One of the goals of the Lycanthrope Coalition, founded and run by Micah, is to extend this kind of help even to single survivors of lycanthrope attacks and to small lycanthrope groups who might lack resources by themselves; and to all weres regardless of type. To care for other’s who are not part of your were group was rather a new idea in the were community.

 

**End INFO Interlude**

 

So… Nathaniel shifted, leaving behind that clear goop, and a black leopard now circled us. Nathaniel’s animal form had always been a black furred leopard, but now it was as if he was darkness given furry form. And he was strutting his stuff as it were; he was a stripper and just know how to showoff.

 

Interestingly, when he moved into a shadow it was like his cat body just vanished; talk about perfect camouflage. Although if you looked closely you could see his cat eyes, which were now red instead of their former green.

 

Nathaniel started to circle us a second time when Illyana reached out and tweaked his tail. Started he leaped into her shadow, but came out of another shadow behind me.

 

Nathaniel froze, stunned as the rest of us; except Illyana who just looked slightly impressed as she commented. _“That should come in handy at some point.”_

 

Nathaniel transformed back, looking very surprised.

 

 _“And your beast is under control?”_ Asked Richard and Micah at the same time.

 

 _“Yes.”_ Answered Nathaniel, rather smugly I think.

 

 _“I don’t… know.”_ Sighed Illyana.

 

All eyes focused on Illyana. _“What’s wrong with Nathaniel?”_ I asked with a sudden anger.

 

 _“Nothing’s wrong with Nathaniel.”_ Was her reply as she poked at the fire again. _“He’s fine.”_

 

_“So why… oh. That.”_

_“Yeah… That.”_

 

I once said on the list of things you don't want to hear, the IRS wants you to answer a few questions, the police consider you a person of interest, and a demon finds you interesting; I'd pick the police and the IRS before the demon. Now add the statement that a were dragon was having trouble with her beast. I’d definitely pick the IRS and the police first, and I’d not sure between the dragon and the demon.

 

All the guys exchanged glances. That kind of glance that said Houston, we have a problem.

 

 _“What do you mean you don’t know?”_ Was my question.

 

_“I… don’t know. The dragon urges have been getting… stronger.”_

 

 _“Was it us?”_ Asked Jean-Claude.

 

_“Possible, but I suspect it is what has been done to me here by the unknown enchantments, and, I suppose, how I first expressed the dragon form.”_

 

 _“How did… you express dragon, if you don’t mind sharing.”_ Asked Micah. _“Sometimes it helps a new were to talk about their experiences.”_

 

 _“I’m not a were.”_ Was her answer. _“The moon means nothing to me and you can’t catch dragon from me.”_

 

 _“But you have a dragon form.”_ Replied Micah. _“The beast is the beast regardless.”_

 

I added. _“I caught a sliver of a memory from you when we were in Khufu’s pyramid, when you… we… raised Khufu from the dead.”_ I left unsaid about how that had ended in the blowing up the pyramid, but that’s another story.

 

She stares at me and I remember it all over again:

_Bound!_

_I am bound and they are consuming me._

_Flesh and blood are taken as I scream._

_My pain is also being... fed upon; but it is not diminished._

_I am… nourishment._

_He knows so much about my kind and the rules that govern us. But he has made a mistake._

_I am more then he knows._

_With a scream I give shape to the hunger that lies at my core and burst my bonds. With a beat of my new found wings I extinguish the flames that provided illumination. Yet I can still see, see and hear and smell. It's as if the room is still lit. I seal the door with a minor enchantment and give voice to my displeasure._

_I... I lose myself in violence for a short while. I recover to find the doors opening to show yet another vampire..._

 

I shake myself loose from the memory and gag a bit as I remember what I… no… what she had done.

 

She watches me gag while the others next to me hold me for a few moments. I finally stop gagging and spit out the saliva behind me. She looks… not embarrassed, but…resigned?

 

“ _Well?”_ I ask.

 

A scowl, but that just don’t have impact on us anymore. Slowly, hesitantly, we learned how Illyana came to our world, and what happened in that temple in Egypt.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I figured that Illyana would have trouble with deep links from Nathaniel. And now for a retelling of how Illyana first came to Anita’s world, but this time from Illyana’s perspective so there should be some interesting details that were not know before. I actually wrote the first draft of 22b several months ago.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

**Part 22a: Rage finds form**

 

_All dimensions… universes… realities, call them what you will, differ. They have rules that govern them, sometimes the same; and sometimes not. This dimension is particularly bound tight against creatures such as me. No admittance unless summoned. Can’t just waltz in. And can’t stay as well._

_I was in pursuit of Khufu. He’d fled to this locality as the rules did not block mortals like him, but the rules did lock him within this locality once he gained entry, which was not his plan. A one way door is a good analogy. He had a little help gaining entry with an obscure magical device; one that he thought would also let him escape as well. It malfunctioned, resulting in him being cast 45 centuries into the past, and broke… trapping him in the past and in this locality._

_So… I couldn’t get in. But I wanted my questions answered; really wanted them answered. I suppose I was… obsessive about it._

_I poked around and after awhile I determined that while demons had to be summoned… there was some traffic of that ilk with your world. The quandary of nobody knowing my name here hindered me until I seized upon the idea of grafting another demon’s name onto me, one who apparently was summoned now and them. His name was Gzzzkl'e, or that’s how you’d pronounce it in English. In his native tongue you would pronounce it as such:_

Illyana then produced sounds that I didn’t realize the human throat could create.

_Gzzzkl'e_

 

_Real bastard of a demon, but then again…_

 

_I piggybacked on the next summoning, Gzzzkl'e was less then happy as he was my involuntary prisoner by then, but it wasn’t like I was giving him choices. That’s when… that’s when I saw all the dead children the satanic werewolves had slain for their summoning ritual for Gzzzkl'e._

_I was displeased. Upset… I don’t like it when kids are involved. I believe all of you know how I expressed my distress. They perished, Gzzzkl'e was the first._

_I saved their leader for last. I had questions. He did not wish to answer. I convinced him otherwise._

Yeah, she’d convinced him. The crime photos showed that his feet had been partial eaten by what the crime lab decided were rats (bite mark analysis). Rather sure that would convince almost anybody, it sure the hell would have convinced me. Nasty... and yet… I’ve read the file of what the police had determined that group had been up to so no tears from me; or anybody else for the matter. But… nasty. A remainder that the supposed young woman before us was anything but that.

 

_This world was strange, magic didn’t function in the manner I’m familiar with, and I couldn’t just teleport about using my disks as that would have immediately ejected me from this dimension; which would be foolish after all the effort I had done to get here. So I had to move about conventionally, or using teleportation spells that did not cross dimensional boundaries. I retrieved the monetary contents of the cult and made my way to a library to learn of this world._

Yeah, heck at one point she’d shown up at my house using Uber of all things.

_I did some searching and located Khufu in the historical records, and there was still lingering magical residue that I could sense, as that god machine he’d built had been bound by his own power and blood so it cast a shadow, or a faint stench to use another analogy, that I could detect. It was old… potent… and stale._

_I made my way to Egypt, via Delta airlines if you want to know, as I was conserving power. A summoned demon is not allowed to remain in this world per the rules unless the world recognizes it as one of its own. Think of it as a slowly growing head wind that you’re walking into, or holding your breath under water; or a rising level of pain, rather like an ever growing migraine. You can persevere for only so long. I suppose the time crunch encouraged me to take shortcuts I shouldn’t have, wished I’d hadn’t in hindsight._

_I could feel the itch of ancient magics as I landed in Egypt. Ancient necromancy and such, all focused on the Cairo necropolis. I had already learned of weres and vampires and some aspects of how magic functioned; I suppose at some point I should return the books I… borrowed from the Smithsonian restricted section; I had first gone to Washington D.C. first because I needed a good mystic library to access; that and the FBI’s forbidden archive, mostly seized stuff I think._

Well that’s wonderful. Really hope that there’s not any video footage of that. Or anybody searching for her at the Federal level that the Marshals would not know about. I made a mental note to not conduct any searches about her on the Marshal computers, or heck any computers. And not to let her leave any books lying around.

_I did laugh a bit as I landed in Egypt, a golf course just outside of the necropolis boundaries… Just so… human to do that. I later learned that one of Khufu’s favorite palaces had been there; he’d noticed the golf course towards the end of our fight as he was rying to use his interface to the dying god machine to escape and the golf course had momentarily distracted him. Khufu always did like his bling, back when I knew him tastes were… well white rapper wantabe would describe him quite well, even the sideways baseball cap which was just… pathetic._

_Back to the story, for some incredibly stupid reason I decided I’d try be polite; like that ever works. Be polite and get tortured. Forbore and you’re considered weak. Try to play nice and just get burned alive for your troubles, all because you found somebody that you kind of… kind of like._

Oops… the last part had been about me and mine. Okay, in hindsight some of her statements that I had taken as threats could be viewed as… not as threatening as I had thought. But, uhm, hey… demon? How the hells was I to know that some of her words had… well… not been threats?

_Anyway… I needed more answers as to how magic worked in this world, and just what had really happened to Khufu; not just what was in the history books. I could sense all kinds of nastily things lying dormant in that necropolis and I wanted to have a better understanding before I set foot in there._

_So I contacted an underling of the local Master of the City and he agreed to meet with me. Assurances were made and his oath given… which turned out to be as worthless as he was. **Idiot**. Blood oaths made with such as I, even in this remote locality, have power. I demanded the oath deliberately as a backup plan just in case. The worse the betrayal, the greater the power of the broken oath. Although if I had known what his true intents were... well… I… would not have meet with him; rather I’d have… done something else._

 

That slight hesitation, bet she’d have just attacked.

_Rules are rules, as he and his learned._

_So, dumb o’ll me actually accepted his invitation. Went to his secret temple where he was holding court… and learned that he was a demonologist. A competent and practiced one at that, but he thought me but a normal demon, bounded into a human body; a misunderstanding that I did nothing to correct._

_I entered his temple but never even got a chance to ask my questions. I was stunned by an enchantment and bound to a T cross with silver chains. That’s when the rape of flesh and blood began by him and his court. Apparently I was the main course, and they just loved that I could magically regenerate my blood and flesh, leaving me as an endless smorgasbord I suppose._

A snarl of rage from her, and on the links as well.

_Bastard could feed on pain and suffering as well, so I guess I was a double jackpot for him. His was the first bite that ripped my throat out and he drank deep, then he keep feeding upon my pain as other vampires feed on my blood and weres feed on my flesh._

Then a slight tremble in her voice. And the feeling that she was really locking down on something.

_I was… was…._

_I was upset._

_Very upset._

_And the oaths he had sworn to were bound by the name Gzzzkl'e. I could not break the bounds by normal means and I… don’t like… what they did to me. Bad memories, I think I… I…_

_I remembered a much worse time where I was…_

She closed here eyes and was silent for a bit. I felt something scratching at my link with her, scratching to get out… and she was resolute in not sharing it. Which was okay by me, anything that could horrify a demon was something I really didn’t want to know about. But the realization was… insightful.

_Gzzzkl'e is not just a name in his native language, it’s also a description. Great beast, great lizard, or…_

_Dragon._

_I’ve always hated shape shifting magic. I like her… my form and no other... but… I was in extremis._

_I took the power of the betrayed oaths._

_I gave a form to my rage and took it as my own._

_It was made manifest and took shape from my adopted name._

_I broke the bounds, physical and mystical._

_Sealed the room._

_I took my vengeance upon them all._

_The dragon fed._

_I fed._

_And the pressures to depart this world eased for a time._

_I… was not very… rational after that. Or willing to attempt to be accommodating._

_Enough with being polite was my conclusion. No more stupidly trusting those of this world to keep their oaths as this world had definitely shown itself to be no different then that any other world._

_I took control of the remaining Cairo vampires. I found and freed Ōyutaka and he swore unsolicited oaths to my service; with him I also took control of the Weres of Cairo._

_From my new… associates I learned more of the vampires, weres, magic, and of the Council. And the now departed Master of the City had additional books of value to me._

_I carefully investigated the Giza necropolis, but not carefully enough; just my presence within the boundaries awoke things. I learned just what Khufu had built there, and incidentally tracked down his body in the Cairo museum, mislabeled and forgotten, which was worth a few snickers as to his ignoble location. I determined that his body was spell bound. Tied to what he had built on Giza, his god machine. If I was going to ask Khufu any questions then I needed more knowledge as to how the dead worked here._

_Well… who better to ask then the dead?_

_I located the Council in Paris. I scouted out their archive. I then raided it in the light of day and took what I wanted._

_And incidentally learned of necromancers, and you… Anita._

_You mostly know the rest._

_And no, the dragon is not_ _Gzzzkl'e, the dragon form is… me I suppose._

**Part 22b: Dragon**

No feeling of shame from her as she finished her story. No downcast eyes, but… a sense of subdued unease, unease about us of all things.

Okay, three magical massacres, any of which would earn her an instant death penalty; as if there was anybody who could actually serve it. And more then a little ironic as all three incidents were perfectly legal if… big big if… you’re a U.S. Marshal serving a warrant for execution. The Egyptians would have just tried to burn her most likely, which oddly kind of matches U.S. law as well. I was not about to feel any remorse for her first two big kills, the satanic werewolves and the Master of Cairo and his Court; I do rather wished she’d found a better way into the Council’s archives, but supposedly the body count from that was much lower and… I could see how she might have decided that a smash and grab was the best solution.

 

And… would not have been in a mood to ask. I could understand how she might have been… unstable after that. Hells, rather sure she was unstable before.

 

 _“How did you feel afterwards… after you shifted back from dragon.”_ Inquired Micah.

 

_“Angry… Frustrated… Somewhat full… Less pressure to depart.”_

 

 _“Any… urges to just turn dragon and resolve… annoyances?”_ Asked Richard.

 

Okay… good question. And rather nice to know if she was feeling like just monstering out and killing everything.

 

_“At times… just as I’m sure all of you have either wanted to turn into an animal and start killing, were or vampire; and I’ve attended staff meetings at RPIT so I’m sure Ms. Blake as felt the same. Things are… simpler when in dragon form, but I still know that I will have to clean up any messes. Urges are not compulsions.”_

She had a point about the staff meetings at RPIT. Sometimes I just want to… Okay the meeting aren’t that bad but… they can kind of drag on at times.

_“You don’t have to… consume to shift back?”_ Was the simple, yet important question from Jean-Claude.

 

_“No.”_

 

A question that I suppose prompted Nathaniel to ask. _“Can we see it… your dragon form.”_

 

That sense of unease suddenly spiked.

 

_“Why?”_

 

 _“It would be helpful to know.”_ Answered Asher. _“You have seen all but Micah’s beast form, we have seen your… Darkchilde form… we will likely encounter your dragon form at some point, so why not now?”_

 

Jean-Claude, Belle More, and I had seen her in the Mother of Darkness’s dreamscape. But I wondered if the physical form was different then the dream form.

 

I prompted as well. _“I won’t promise to not have issues, but we will all likely find out at some point.”_ There, didn’t over promise like I had with Richard. I did hope that she wasn’t going to kill a deer, but there was already a deer carcasses I suppose she could eat if she was hungry… um… I think I just compared her to a vulture. No reaction from her so either she didn’t get anything from the links or she wasn’t insulted.

She set down the stick she’d been using to poke the fire with, stood up and walked away for about thirty paces as we all stood. Turned and…

 

It just smoothly flowed out of her form, with none of that goop that the weres generated while shifting.

 

Dragon.

 

The fire illuminated her sleek body with a warm golden glow as she settled down. She precede to recline upon the ground, wings folded, head above her front claws, just looking at us as her tail flicked back and forth a few times and then just lay still.

 

We had braced for terror and fear but… honestly… Her dragon form was magnificent. Both terrible and beautiful to behold. Was I apprehensive? You bet. Terrified? No, none of us were; rather we were all kind of enthralled. I suppose this was what the characters in Jurassic Park must have felt like when they first encountered something so… impossible, and not trying to eat them.

 

Her head was about half the length of a horse attached to a long flexible neck.   A long jaw that was filled with sharp spiky teeth even thought the mouth was closed. She had backward facing spikes on her head and concealed within the spikes were two flexible ears. Parts of her skin looked leathery, the rest was scales, mostly of a golden hue, although some were copper and a few were silver’ish or emerald green. Her tail was twice as long as her body, and I’d have to guess that she was as least eighty feet long noise to tail, rather hard to measure as she was partially curled up, might have been a hundred.

 

Her claws looked like she could gut an elephant. She had four limbs and her wings were separate, not part of the forelimbs like a bat or a bird. Her eyes were of burning reddish golden flame, partially reflected light, partial a light burning within. She blinked, revealing that she possessed double membranes like a reptile. I was expecting her scent to be… harsh, and I suppose it was, but it didn’t smell… wrong. The air was strongly flavored by the smell of black gunpowder, black pepper, and wolf, but there was also the smell of Pack, and of the Pard.

 

We all exchanged glances and then moved closer to her as we surrounded her front.

 

Her breathing was like some vast diesel that only cycled once every thirty seconds. She watched us, slightly shifting her head as we all approached from various frontal angles. Jean-Claude and I were on opposite sides of her head, I hesitantly touched the side of her neck and I could feel muscles twitch at my touch. Turns out dragons are warm, not cold, and I do mean warm… like hundred and five degrees warm. The skin was dry and felt like thick but supple leather. The spikes on her head blunt and bony, the ones on her neck were flexible and pointy.

 

Asher was at her very nose and he reached out his hand and touched her upper lip, her lips pulled back as her mouth opened and she bared her teeth at him and gave a slight rumbling growl. Don’t know if that was supposed to scare him off, but it didn’t. He reached out again and felt one of the white teeth.

 

Meanwhile Jean-Claude stroked her behind her right ear, causing other one of those muscle twitches. He began to scratch and her eyes closed as she lowered her head upon her front claws. A rumble low rumble slowly began.

 

 _“That’s… purring”._ Whispered Nathaniel sounding just like a kid seeing a great cat for the first time.

 

I gently scratched behind the ear that faced me as I felt the rumble of her purr in my chest.

 

Nathaniel was behind me and he sketched out his arms as he pressed himself against her side, right ear pressed against her.

 

_“I can hear her heart. It’s slow… like a train just idling.”_

 

Richard joined Asher by the head, reached down, and rubbed the bottom of her chin; just like you’d scratch a cat. Damian did the same as Nathaniel, just on the other side.

 

I could feel his Richard’s excitement. Richard is a high school science teacher and had just recently earned his Maser’s degree in biology, and here before him was a noble prize winning body of research in the flesh.

 

Micah was the most daring. He shifted into his black leopard form and lightly leapt upon her back after pausing for a few seconds. She didn’t start so I guess he had asked permission. Another one of those muscle twitches was all the reaction that she gave. He settled down on her back and kneaded her, like a kitten looking for milk, with his front paws as he began to purr back.

 

Should have guessed that one of the cats would do that. Cat’s love a nice hot spot when it’s cool. I then imaged a Pard kitty pile, but with Illyana in dragon form and all of the wereleopards in cat form draped upon her as they all just snoozed, I supposed that the wolves would feel left out and want in on the action as well.

 

It was a pleasant moment. I guess the first one that we’d ever had with her. It was a completely new experience and one that was exhilarating and yet relaxing for everybody.

 

I touched a dragon. You just… you just had to be there. Think snuggling with a full grown tiger and you’d be close.

 

So of course it ended. Nothing dramatic, just… sad in retrospect.

 

Suddenly I felt her muscles tense up and her purring stop. She twitched and gave a little shake that we all correctly interpreted as I’m going to move. Micah jumped down and resumed human form as she stood up on all four limbs, gave herself another shake as she grumbled.

 

Then it was just Illyana again in her yellow and deep blue spandex looking confused at us. Guess she’d expected some other reaction then the one’s we gave.

 

Shard’s I’d petting a dragon! We all had! It had been a magic moment.

 

And then it was over. And we remembered she was a demon.

 

Or… did she remember that first?


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Been writing other things for awhile. What I write is based upon available time, mood, reader feedback, and the state of my creative muse. Plus, this story takes extra time because it is one of my more serious works, and it is tied to a very complicated crossover as it involves not only Anita Blake, but all of her main boyfriends as well.
> 
> An ongoing discussion LordGrise and I have is “Did Illyana always have her soul?” Now Marvel canon says no, but I’ve… put my thumb on the scale as it were with my fan fiction as several of my stories show her having undiagnosed brain damage that was only rectified once Dormammu tried to kill her (which is way way after this story). Plus, for those who’ve noticed, the recurring internal mental meme “You are not her” that I believe Belasco created when he caste her out after summoning/creating her (but only after, in my writing, abusing the hell out of her causing the damage and solidifying that concept in her mind; as he did reject her for not being the Illyana he desired). Broken bones don’t heal right without a splint, and neither does a broken mind. So… that leaves a certain interpretive ambiguity that I like.

A song that I am found of, and one that describes Illyana so very well, is Behind Blue Eyes by the Who. Why? Read the comics… Illyana almost never ever shares what is going on in her mind. And never asks for help, until finally she sought out Dr. Strange for help after Dormammu.

 

_No one knows what it's like_

_To be the bad man_

_To be the sad man_

_Behind blue eyes_

_No one knows what it's like_

_To be hated_

_To be fated_

_To telling only lies_

_But my dreams_

_They aren't as empty_

_As my conscience seems to be_

_I have hours, only lonely_

_My love is vengeance_

_That's never free_

_No one knows what it's like_

_To feel these feelings_

_Like I do_

_And I blame you_

_No one bites back as hard_

_On their anger_

_None of my pain and woe_

_Can show through_

_But my dreams_

_They aren't as empty_

_As my conscience seems to be_

_…_

_…_

 

 

**Part 23a: Touch**

 

Illyana turned her back on us for a few seconds, to gather herself was my thought. Likewise the rest of us all exchanged glances about what has just happened as we moved away from her.

 

The weres and vampires have a term for it. Touch Hunger. A need created by the prolonged lack of physical contact.

 

I don’t mean sexual touch, just normal touching, hugging, cuddling, being held, and sleeping as a group like the weres love to do in their big puppy piles. This can became quite the affliction for weres as almost all were groups are social gatherings with pack dynamics; even if the base animal is not a pack animal such as panthers, snakes, and the like. Conventional theory is human nature combined with the animal resulted in the enhanced pack behaviors; extra so for base pack animals like wolves. Being denied such pack contact becomes a hungry agony for weres, hence the name.

 

Vampires can suffer from it as well, but only after very prolonged shunning. Asher had suffered from such lack of contact for centuries after he recovered, but not healed, from his torture by holy water. He was thought a grotesque monster, a freak due to the scaring on half of his body. Shunned by almost everybody in his old Kiss, the one run by Belle Morte. Shunned but for those who liked broken things. He’d been starved for contact as it were when he came here. Both Jean-Claude’s, and my, acceptance of him as he was, had both hurt him and helped him. Hurt in that the pain, the trauma, so long repressed, could finally have an outlet; and… hurt in that he could have escaped it a long ago if he’d only had the courage to leave. Helped in that he was cared for now, he mattered, he was loved. Asher now understands that he is more then just what he had been told he was; more then just a twisted monster.

 

Or… a demon?

 

I’ve felt other demons, the reek of uncaring evil, malice, cruelty. She has many of the same magical… tastes as the other demons. But…

 

There appears to be so much more going on here.

 

A sense of angry caring was one. Only for us few, but… the feeling of caring really felt like it was there.

 

I’m certainly no a demon expert, nor do I wish to be, but… the shared glances my men and I exchanged spoke volumes. Since when does a demon have touch hunger? I knew what the answer had to be… assuming this as not all just an incredibly detailed lie which… well… that demon thing.

 

Asher and Nathanael exchanged a private glance, then Asher walked back over to her and stood next to her while Nathaniel came to stand close by me. Brief words were exchanged by Asher to Illyana, I don’t know what he said to her, nobody knows as even the vampires and weres could not make out the spoken words. Apparently, when she has a private conversation, it stays private. It made sense in hindsight, that one of most socially ostracized of my men, so very socially damaged, would see reflections, as he later told me, of himself in her. Plus I suppose that whole she might be able to really heal him of most of the scars, which, I guess, rather motivated him to try to be supportive. I watched him go stand by her and… yeah… felt a pang of jealousy.

 

Jean-Claude sent to me… somehow speaking out loud felt… wrong. _(Most… interesting ma petite.)_

 

 _(That’s one way of putting it…)_ Was my reply. I wasn’t quite sure if he meant our petting the dragon, Asher showing what appeared to be actual concern, or just everything in general.

 

Micah started to rub my shoulders, nothing sensual… mostly… just a nice massage. He sent as well, and I could feel Jean-Claude’s agreeing with what he said _. (You feel… apprehensive… and I know both that look and your proclivity to relationship apprehensions.)_

 

Jean-Claude added. _(We are not going anywhere ma petite.)_

 

The massage felt nice. Just what I needed. And why was I apprehensive? What the brain and heart tell you can be different. And insecurities of the past just don’t just go away because your head tells you.

 

 _(You fear that we will suddenly leave you for her.)_ Sent Micah. _(Like I would leave my Nimir-Ra.)_

 

What can I say? Sometimes a girl just want to hear her men tell her that she’s special.

 

But Micah was not done. _(In truth I suspect we have far more reasons to be nervous then you.)_

 

 _(In what way?)_ I sent.

 

Micah paused in his massage but it was Richard who answered. _(She’s leaving you for last and… you were the first to…)_

 

Yeah… first to fuck, so not happy about that. I won the fight against the others last night, a fight I don’t really remember or understand how I could have won. Heck, I don’t think I want to remember.

 

_(I don’t remember a thing about that. How on earth was I able to win?)_

 

Jean-Claude answered. _(Fury ma petite. Fury. It was as if she was the sun and you a comet destined to plunge into the fire. The enchantment that she spoke of, the one that was meant to kill you and harm us… That may have been the reason for your sheer fury to be one with her.)_

 

_(Um… and… her?)_

 

_(She burned as only the ardeur can cause. She would be with whoever won.)_

 

Time to change the subject. So wanted to change the subject as I felt another sexual memory trying to surface. I really did not want any more memory flashbacks about… that. I asked Nathanael what he and Asher had mentally talked about.

 

Nathanael replied after a glance at Illyana and Asher. _(Asher and I felt that it would be wrong to leave her alone.)_

 

I think… I can see why. No need to encourage isolationist behavior, the pushing away of people. Based upon my own tendencies, I can see why my men are attuned to such. I noticed that Asher hadn’t touched her, and stood about two feet her. But still… a twang of irritation about it. I know… not fair… but… still irritation.

 

 

**Part 23b: Micah**

 

And then it was Micah’s turn.

 

She turned around and walked back towards us, leaving a scowling Asher to walk behind her. Guess she was either still moody, or didn’t much like what Asher had told her. Micah stopped massaging my shoulders and began to take his shirt off as we all backed away to give them room. Like Richard and Nathaniel before him, Micah stripped, folded his clothes, and stood naked before her. I did see her glance at Micah’s groin, and then quickly look away which caused me to grin involuntarily. Can’t really blame her much. Micah’s package really is impressive, doubly so as he’s only my height. But there was power in his back, in his legs... in him, really. That thought led me to compare Richard, Micah, and Nathaniel in another way. Richard is by far the most buff, Nathaniel has a swimmers body, whereas Micah is my size, which, as I’ve said, means short.

 

But don’t count Micah out in a fight, he’d once gone head to head in a drag out fight with Richard, which just goes to prove the proverb, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog, or cat in that particular instance. He may not be as physically strong as Richard but, Micah is metaphysically very powerful.

 

There was a long silent stare between Micah and her. I assumed they were privately conversing to make sure that there were no surprises like Nathaniel. And then again she started walking around and again I saw the glyphs and circles as they shimmered into existence. Micah had all these little galaxy-like associative in distant, faded orbits... representative of all his treaty ties, I guessed. Which reminded me that Micah’s work with the lycanthropy coalition meant that he dealt with all kinds of were groups and individual weres. That usually worked fine here as he was allied with the Wererats and the Werewolves, two of the biggest were groups in St. Louis, to say nothing of Master of the City, and I, so none of the other local were groups are stupid enough to give him much in the way of crap. The fact that the coalition was really run for the benefit of everybody and did not try to dominate the were groups really helped as well. Most areas tended to have various were groups constantly jostling as to who was in change or just one group being dominant. Richard and Micah may have their differences, but Micah had been there for one of Richards’ wolfs having a very bad night. That had convinced Richard to support the Coalition.

 

But the success of the coalition on helping weres meant that other locality had invited Micah in to either setup additional local coalitions, or as a mediator involving existing differences. More then a few of the trips to other were localities ended up with Micah being in some kind of fight as the idea of were groups working with each other is just so foreign to were society. Fights that had injured Micah more then a few times. I hated… the fear that something might happen, which I suppose must be how the others feel about my Federal Marshal work. Damn it, if only his were form was more…

 

That’s when there was a flicker of memories, just as I felt a hot flash and a wave of sudden anger flow across the link from Illyana. A mental snarl from her just as she teleported in the deer. Micah shifted in order to make the kill. He struck with his jaws and the deer’s throat was ripped out in a hot spray of blood.

 

_…_

_The focused driving need for completion in this writhing screaming woman beneath me. Anita rakes my back as her legs grip me to provide more leverage to thrust upwards as I thrust into her harder and harder as we both…_

_…_

_…_

_The stink and roar of the gunfire is deafening as fire erupts from her pistol. The vampire has a hole the size of my fist where his heart once was, and the back of his head is gone. Anita ejects the spent clip and slams home the next one as she spins…_

_..._

_…_

_This meeting is not going well as the tigers and the bears are just not willing to even attempt to see things from each other’s perspective. They’ve both gone half ware, posturing and trying to intimidate the other. The posturing degrades into a snarling fight that drags me in as well…_

_…_

 

The memories faded and I realized that things were not as with the others as I witnessed:

 

A black space, filled with nothing but isolated glowing rings and glyphs, like a night sky of endless stars. They were definitely inter-related, and yet at the same time oddly apart from of each other, more self-contained, with none of the organized symmetry of the rings and orbits I had seen with everyone else. More… primal, more elemental. A blink and…

 

I’m back in the forest, but now the human forms of all the weres were gone. A massive black furred burning wolf sat where Richard has been standing and a night black panther with glowing green eyes where Nathanial had been. All three vampires were just unmoving naked marble white statues of male perfections, even Asher, with tiny streams of blood running from their mouth down their necks and onto their chests. Where Micah had been there was only a cat shaped blur in his place, like it was a cat that had not yet crystallized. Where Illyana had been there was now a thing of fire and darkness that was reaching down into the pool of blood besides the deer. Another blink and…

 

A thing of fire and smoke, impaled with seven shafts of light… or are they burning swords? A blink and…

 

A large cat and a small dragon on a featureless white plane… or is it a large dragon and a small cat? I can’t tell as there is no perspective to the scene. Just staring at each other with their tails lashing back and forth. Another blink and…

 

A return to the animals, statues, and the thing of fire and darkness that was drawing a shape burning shape on the black cat blur with a bloody finger, as if the cat blur were some kind of chalk board, the finger was drawing a cat outline with large fangs. Another blink and…

 

I feel broken glass crunch beneath my shoes as I found myself standing outside what looks like a very large two story house, looked like a mansion made of glass. Broken glass. The smell of smoke and what looks like a small fire burning in one wing. I turn as I saw a flicker of movement in the corner of me eyes, just an almost glimpse of something, and the feeling of terror, but then…

 

I’m back in the woods, and before Illyana is a very large jet black panther, almost tiger sized, one with saber teeth. One that then sifted to the Micah’s traditional sized panther.

 

 _(I felt your concern)_ Sent Illyana. _(So… I made a tweak… a second animal form, and likely a second half animal form as well.)_

 

Not hard to figure out why _. (So the bigger weres will think twice before they fuck with him.)_ I sent back.

 

Just a sense of agreement and suppressed rage from her as we watched Micah transform into his normal were panther half human form, and then into another larger form that had very large teeth. Okay… I can live with that. I guess this was the gift for Micah as he demonstrated no other new abilities.

 

We could all feel her sudden rage at the thought of something harming him… harming us. Oh gods, I hope she wasn’t going to be a hover mother, we so don’t need that…

 

 

**Part 23c: Anita**

 

And at long last, it was my turn. Yea. Hells, even mystic rituals can get rather boring after awhile, when something or somebody is not trying to kill you that is.

 

Richard inquired if I had to be naked for my ritual and all the male eyes looked in my direction, I swear I could feel the mental chuckles. Yes, the idea of naked breasts, a unifying hetero male focus. Yell fire in a theater and you get a panic. Yell boobs and every guy sprains his neck trying to checkout the displayed goodies.

 

Illyana and I shared a quick glance that spoke volumes (Men…). Then Illyana just shrugged which I suppose meant that clothing was optional. Well… the clothing stayed on, much to the male disappointment.

 

Illyana had teleported us to a cemetery, no great surprise. We appeared to be in some remote desert location. Sandy ground. Dark hills. No sign of any human habitation other then a few scattered crumbling tombstones and crude wooden crosses. Only the old dead were here, felt like a century at least, maybe a hundred and fifty years. There were a surprising number of unmarked graves around us, the stones either tumbled and buried or else never present. There was a backpack next to a head stone and a chicken clucking away in a cage.

 

I mentioned to Illyana that my powers had grown strong enough that I could use just a little of my own blood for the raising instead having to kill the chicken. A comment that elicited a polite and carefully thought out reply from her.

_“No.”_ Was her statement as she pointed at the backpack and the chicken. _“Use the supplies in the backpack. Kill the chicken and use its blood. Pick a grave and raise a zombie. Stay outside of the circle.”_

 

Now I may… just may… have trained my men to take direction from me with a minimum of “why?” statements. But this was not a battle and she was not my boss.

 

 _“Why?”_ I answered back as I crossed my arms. And yes, I was pleased to see her frown at me. _“And don’t reply by saying because I told you so.”_

 

Which earned me a sarcastic eye roll and the reply. _“Is this going to be a thing?”_

 

_“Yep, it doesn’t hurt to try explaining instead of just pointing and ordering.”_

 

Did the men looked concerned? Worried? Apprehensive?

 

Nope, they all just exchanged a glance that looked disturbingly like the glance Illyana and I had shared. But I think theirs conveyed (Women…). But being men of course there had to be fewer words. Right?

 

But no stare down between the two of us. First just a contemplative look from her then… _“The master traditionally examines the apprentice while they are using the traditional instruments of their craft. You are very advanced in your abilities, and the simple ways allow for better… insight.”_

My reply of _“I’m not your apprentice.”_ Just earned me a neutral look from her, then a private thought.

 

_(Yes, you are. That is why I’ve permitted you to… see better.)_

 

_(Bull, I’m a necromancer, not a mage, or a witch.)_

 

_(Sorceress is the traditional term, I dislike the term witch, which I am not.)_

 

_(I am not a sorceress. That means one who has bargained for the power that they have, usually at the cost of their soul or harm to others. I owe no one anything.)_

 

_(Where I am from, it denotes a female practitioner of the mystic arts, nothing more, which is what you are now that we are bonded. You have the talent but not the training, and that can make you a danger to everyone around you if your abilities… manifest in ways you are unfamiliar with.)_

 

_(And now you’re Yoda?)_

 

I got a strong sense of irritation from her instead of a mental reply, then she spoke aloud.

 

_“If you use your blood before I’ve… assessed you, then you may find that there might be a power surge or other complication. You may raise more then you think. And unwanted things may answer the call as well. Use the traditional methods…Please. Circle of salt around the grave, blood of a sacrifice. NO blood from you - I absolutely guarantee that would go badly wrong right now. Your power will suffice, you do not need the name of the subject.”_

 

_“Without the zombie drinking my blood, it will remain just a zombie. No mind, no thoughts. Plus, I need the name to call it back into its sense of former self.”_

 

_“I… and you, have no need of names. Nor in this case do we need to converse with the dead. Were you not raising the dead before you even learned anything?”_

 

I sent. _(I don’t want to talk about that.)_

 

Okay… what she was saying made a kind of sense, so of course I had to be sarcastic. _“Gee, see how easy that was… explaining that is. Last time I checked it was the in thing with all the adults.”_

 

No reply, just a look from her that stated she was in awe of my people skills, again meaning not.

 

The guys made a circle around the grave I selected. It was an old one, the dead felt a hundred years old or so. I opened the backpack and found the salt, it was a four pound box of Morton Kosher. There was also the jar of the ointment that I use, a silver bowl, and a scorched, silver plated, steel machete… crap it was the one I lost in the pyramid of Khufu. Give the girl credit, she was thorough.

 

This time Illyana did not walk around the subject, the subject being me; instead she just stood there, slightly within the circle of guys. Hmmm, Jean-Claude on her left and Richard on her right, bet that was not by chance.

 

I opened the Morton’s and started to pour a salt circle around the grave. The purpose of the salt circle is to both ward the zombie from external entities that might wish to possess it, and to keep the zombie within the circle once I sealed it with my power. I would also use the salt to bind the zombie back into its grave when we were done. I found myself remembering the first time I did this with Manny Rodriguez, my mentor in the zombie raising arts and vampire hunting, as I walked around the grave pouring the salt.

 

 _“Less salt Anita, nina tonta.”_ Manny told me. _“We raise the dead, not salt fish to dry.”_ Manny was one of the first people to make me feel… normal. Mostly… And he gave me an outlet for the anger, the rage that… **DAMMIT!**

 

 _(Get out of my memories!)_ I sent to Illyana. _(I don’t like sharing, and this is not the time to be distracted!)_

 

 _(That make two of us.)_ Was her reply. _(You are using your power, and the bindings between us are opening fully.)_

 

_(So this is not your doing?)_

 

_(Shards, no. The last thing I want is such understanding of all of you, but such is the familiar relationship. And Manny is right, you still use too much salt.)_

 

_(Everybody’s a critic...)_

 

Circle complete, I got the jar of ointment from the backpack. I dabbed the ointment on my forehead and cheeks. The ointment, which all Animators make, is made from a blend of herbs and graveyard mold; all Animators also have their own variations of the recipe. Mine is a pale, off-white color with flecks of greenish light. It has a waxy and thick feel on the skin, but is quickly absorbed. The mixture usually includes varying amounts of the herbs: rosemary for memory, cinnamon and clove for preservation, sage for wisdom, and thyme to bind it all, it’s actually rather good for the skin.

 

Apparently she agreed with Manny on other things as well. _(And you also use too much rosemary.)_

 

_(Since when did you become an expert?)_

 

She replied. _(I think she… I was ten at the time I first learned. There are many versions of these rituals. While I know many of them, I dislike and avoid death magic.)_

 

_(Too hard?)_

 

_(Too dangerous. She had those she longed for. Using such magic was too much of a temptation for her.)_

 

_(And it’s not for me?)_

 

_(Of course it is. But Necromancy is your magical nexus. And you appear to understand what so many do not: that the dead are dead. What we bring back is not what we lost.)_

 

_(What is your nexus?)_

 

A flicker of a memory…

 

_…Again I’ve failed. I’ve been banished to this frozen hell for I don’t know how long, all that I know is that I’ve grown a head taller. I’m sustained only by the energy that Oak gives me, and in that taking I hasten the death of Oak. But the tree gives freely to me. I try once again to create something pure… unsullied. And once again I fail. But now… NOW…_

_Now Oak is dead, the last of Ororo’s works. I watch the tree crumble to dust and blow away in these never ending arctic winds. I’m not her, I’ll never be her. Ororo created for it’s own sake, a metaphor of her freedom from Belasco. An affirmation of the woman she once was. But I don’t want a metaphor… I want vengeance, the utter destruction of my tormentor!_

_But… is it that simple? Not a metaphoric weapon, but…_

_I cast my master spell, using what remains of the strength I took from Oak, and **all** of my own. I wonder if I should pray… but I don’t. All my prayers are used against me. Only Belasco listens… only Belasco answers. As I plunge my hand into the energy sphere… an image comes to mind… of a sword._

_The blaze of power is like nothing I’ve ever felt. I…_

 

The flicker of memory about that frozen hell vanishes as Illyana sends her answer to my question.

 

_(Destruction.)_

 

I hoped she’s kidding, but somehow I knew she wasn’t. And there was that certain destroyed pyramid in Egypt that was still burning.

 

_(So you can’t raise the dead?)_

 

_(I can, zombies are not difficult, but to restore a zombie to thinking, to the belief of being who they were? To truly raise the dead, so well that they can forget they died? To look as they once were? I know madness for me lies on that path if I were to walk it so… no. I have never done that.)_

 

Time for the sacrifice. I gently retrieved the chicken from the cage. For a hundred year old death a chicken would normally not suffice, but I had progressed since the last time I had done one of these. I don’t so much use my power as I stop not using it. My necromancy is like a clenched fist inside of me. I simply relax that fist and my necromancy fills the night air like a cold invisible fog… but tonight there was a sense of heat as well in my power; fire mixed in with the cold. Plus… I could swear that there was a trace of brimstone in the air.

 

 _“Control pequeño, control. Simple imagine the flow stopping. Like holding your breath.”_ My grandmother had taught me.

 

 _“Or clenching a fist abuela?”_ Had been my reply.

 

_“Yes pequeño, like a fist. You only let go when you want.”_

 

When I was ten, two years after my mother’s death, my father remarried a woman named Judith. Suffice it to say that Judith and I clashed. Even then I could see ghosts, and accidentally raising my dead pet dog and random road kill soooo did not lead to a happy family life. Ever have a dead raccoon wander in during supper? I have, and it's areal mood killer. It was summer, and we were eating in the backyard; an undead raccoon wandered in out of the twilight, everyone except me scattered, and it made off with an ear of corn. So yes, let’s just say my family was dismayed. Back then I had little control over my powers, which eventually led my father to request that my maternal grandmother teach me how to "turn off" my abilities. Abuela taught me how to control it… mostly, but seeing how powerful I was, she encouraged dad to raise me as a Christian. She was concerned that evil would find pathways into me due to the strength of my….

 

A grumbled thought from me. _(You’re doing it again…)_

 

_(I told you, I’m not doing it. You thoughts and memories are like a rude neighbor who won’t turn down their stereo.)_

 

_(How come I don’t get anything from you?)_

 

_(I am not known for sharing. Hmmm, I do see where some of your feelings about blondes come from.)_

 

If that was true, then why did I remember a dream about a dragon in Egypt, and other other’s each had dreams as well. And… just before… that flicker about her sword. Hmmm, bet she doesn’t know about that. Ha! A secret.

 

I continued to voice my complaints as it were. _(What did I say about this?)_

 

_(You are the one sharing… regardless of your complaints. I suspect I would have… harmed your ex if that had been me.)_

 

My college fiancée.

My Ex.

My first lover, and my last until Jean-Claude.

 

When my father had remarried, the resulting situation was one where I so did not fit in with the Nordic remake of my family, my blond father, stepmother, stepsister, and eventual half-brother. I was always clashing with Judith over my "unladylike" interests, independence, and of course the necromancy. Maybe things would have worked out better, but Judith was always quick to tell others that I was only a stepdaughter with a Mexican mother. Which of course always left me feeling alienated.

 

I went way for college and I fell in love, and so in love with being loved for being me. And then it all came crashing down when he broke it off. He told me that his parents disapproved of me. They felt that I’d hidden what I was. Not quite sure just what exactly that was, but it was obviously very racist. His parents had threatened him with being cut off from their money and… that mattered more then me. I somehow imagined them whispering with horror the word Hispanic as they drove away. After that I just… shut down. And the rage that had always lived in me just grew even stronger.

 

...but for a time I had felt that I was loved for who I was… and then I was rejected for being who I was. It hurt so bad…

 

_(Damn it! Do I have any privacy?!)_

 

_(Do you want an honest answer?)_

 

_(Yes!)_

 

_(Then basically no. And like I said, you handled it far better then I would have.)_

 

_(So you would have killed them dead?)_

 

 _(Totally.)_ The images that accompanied that flaming red and black one word answer made me shudder... and yet, at the same time... It was my ancient grievance, not hers... but she still felt for me.

 

Back to the sacrifice. I did it quickly, I don’t like the animals to suffer. A quick chop and the blood filled the bowl. I dabbed blood on my forehead and cheeks. Then I sprinkled a bit of blood on the salt circle. Normally I’d start calling out the name of the one to raise, but in this case it was a generic raising. But I did voice a complaint.

 

_(It’s hard to raise them without their name.)_

 

_(For one of your power… no it is not. The rituals you use make it harder as they are focused upon raising a zombie to think as the person they were. Have you not accidentally raised the dead?)_

 

Yeah. Even a professor in college who has committed suicide. Showed up knocking at my dorm room door. He wanted me to … convey his apologies to his wife. My roommate moved out the next day…

 

_(I’m getting tired of the flashbacks.)_

 

_(Likewise.)_

 

_(I saw rings and glyphs around the others. Levels of power. Connections and abilities. Plus sometimes I saw auras with no effort.)_

 

_(Lessons…)_

 

_(Don’t start with that apprentice bullshit again.)_

 

A mental tone of sarcasm from her. One that sounded just like me when I was doing a bad job of humoring some obstinate idiot. ( _Sure, wouldn’t think of it. What could I possibly know about the topic?)_

 

And now I know how others must feel when I speak like that. _(That’s very annoying.)_

 

_(You are correct.)_

 

_(That’s annoying as well.)_

 

_(Once again you are right.)_

 

_(I can get snippety as well.)_

 

_(My mistake, I thought you already were.)_

 

I gave up commenting about being snippety before it got worse. I finished the ritual. I put the bowl of blood in the circle and began to chant as I sealed the circle with my power.

 

_Hear me, I call you from your grave._

_By blood, magic and steel, I call you._

_Arise, come to me, come to me… Come to me now._

_I give blood to the earth._

_Life for death, death for life._

_Raise and drink the blood._

 

As I spoke I felt the occupant of the grave stir. Dust and bones reforming, taking shape, the ground parted as a desiccated corpse clawed itself from the grave and lay upon the ground in a tattered and ruined dress, then it crawled to the bowl of blood and drank. As it did, its flesh inflated like a balloon, and likewise the dress grew less tattered. But the zombie was not restored to human form they usually did with me; it still looked like a rotting corpse. I’m capable of raising a zombie to look fully human, but not by these rituals. I need to know its name. The zombie, and it did look very much like the classical zombie, raised her head, stood, and stared at me awaiting orders.

 

Stood with a red glow in her eyes, and a bullet hole above and between them.

 

My Browning was in my hands without a thought, just a reflex. Glowing eyes meant that something was in there. If it so much as twitched I was going to blow its head off.

 

But nothing happened. It just stood there awaiting orders.

 

Illyana began to walk around my circle, as if inspecting it. Then when she was on the other side she spoke and gestured to the zombie. _“Come here.”_

 

I started to point out that… _“The zombie will only obey me or those whom…”_

 

The zombie turned away from me and walked over to the other side of the circle and stood before Illyana. Illyana seemed pleased as she commented. _“This has been a very educational night.”_

 

That’s when I realized that as we had explored the links, all of us, we’d also been teaching her about us. Teaching and demonstrating.

 

Our abilities.

Our lives.

Our powers.

 

**Oh**

**Utter**

**Crap**


End file.
